2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification decided the 45 teams that joined hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tournament details
Dates	7 September 2023 – 31 March 2026
Teams	206 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	899
Goals scored	2,527 (2.81 per match)
Attendance	15,626,580 (17,382 per match)
Top scorer	Erling Haaland (16 goals)
← 2022 2030 →

Qualification began on 7 September 2023 with three matches of the CONMEBOL zone played that day. The first goal of the qualification series was scored by Colombian player Rafael Santos Borré against Venezuela.

Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan all qualified for the first time, with Curaçao becoming the smallest nation to ever qualify, while Qatar had their first successful qualifying campaign after making their debut in the previous edition as hosts.

Slot allocation

On 30 March 2017, the Bureau of the FIFA Council (composed of the FIFA president and the presidents of each of the six confederations) proposed a slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The recommendation was submitted for the ratification by the FIFA Council.

On 9 May 2017, two days before the 67th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation in a meeting in Manama, Bahrain. This included an intercontinental play-off tournament involving six teams to decide the last two FIFA World Cup spots.

The ratification of slot allocation also gave the OFC a guaranteed berth in the final tournament for the first time in FIFA World Cup history; as such, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first tournament in which all six confederations have at least one guaranteed berth.

Qualified teams

 

  Team qualified

  Team eliminated

  Team withdrew or suspended

  Not a FIFA member

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Total times qualified	Last time qualified	Current consecutive appearances	Previous best performance
Canada	Hosts	14 February 2023	3	2022	2	Group stage (1986, 2022)
Mexico	Hosts	14 February 2023	18	2022	9	Quarter-finals (1970, 1986)
United States	Hosts	14 February 2023	12	2022	2	Third place (1930)
Japan	AFC third round Group C winners	20 March 2025	8	2022	8	Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022)
New Zealand	OFC third round winners	24 March 2025	3	2010	1	Group stage (1982, 2010)
Iran	AFC third round Group A winners	25 March 2025	7	2022	4	Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022)
Argentina	CONMEBOL winners	25 March 2025	19	2022	14	Winners (1978, 1986, 2022)
Uzbekistan	AFC third round Group A runners-up	5 June 2025	1	—N/a	1	—N/a
Jordan	AFC third round Group B runners-up	5 June 2025	1	—N/a	1	—N/a
South Korea	AFC third round Group B winners	5 June 2025	12	2022	11	Fourth place (2002)
Australia	AFC third round Group C runners-up	10 June 2025	7	2022	6	Round of 16 (2006, 2022)
Brazil	CONMEBOL fifth place	10 June 2025	23	2022	23	Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
Ecuador	CONMEBOL runners-up	10 June 2025	5	2022	2	Round of 16 (2006)
Paraguay	CONMEBOL sixth place	4 September 2025	9	2010	1	Quarter-finals (2010)
Uruguay	CONMEBOL fourth place	4 September 2025	15	2022	5	Winners (1930, 1950)
Colombia	CONMEBOL third place	4 September 2025	7	2018	1	Quarter-finals (2014)
Morocco	CAF Group E winners	5 September 2025	7	2022	3	Fourth place (2022)
Egypt	CAF Group A winners	8 October 2025	4	2018	1	First round (1934), group stage (1990, 2018)
Tunisia	CAF Group H winners	8 September 2025	7	2022	3	Group stage (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)
Algeria	CAF Group G winners	9 October 2025	5	2014	1	Round of 16 (2014)
Ghana	CAF Group I winners	12 October 2025	5	2022	2	Quarter-finals (2010)
Cape Verde	CAF Group D winners	13 October 2025	1	—N/a	1	—N/a
Qatar	AFC fourth round Group A winners	14 October 2025	2	2022	2	Group stage (2022)
Saudi Arabia	AFC fourth round Group B winners	14 October 2025	7	2022	3	Round of 16 (1994)
Senegal	CAF Group B winners	14 October 2025	4	2022	3	Quarter-finals (2002)
South Africa	CAF Group C winners	14 October 2025	4	2010	1	Group stage (1998, 2002, 2010)
Ivory Coast	CAF Group F winners	14 October 2025	4	2014	1	Group stage (2006, 2010, 2014)
England	UEFA Group K winners	14 October 2025	17	2022	8	Winners (1966)
France	UEFA Group D winners	13 November 2025	18	2022	8	Winners (1998, 2018)
Croatia	UEFA Group L winners	14 November 2025	7	2022	4	Runners-up (2018)
Portugal	UEFA Group F winners	16 November 2025	9	2022	7	Third place (1966)
Norway	UEFA Group I winners	16 November 2025	4	1998	1	Round of 16 (1998)
Germany	UEFA Group A winners	17 November 2025	21	2022	19	Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
Netherlands	UEFA Group G winners	17 November 2025	12	2022	2	Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
Switzerland	UEFA Group B winners	18 November 2025	13	2022	6	Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954)
Scotland	UEFA Group C winners	18 November 2025	10	1998	1	Group stage (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998)
Spain	UEFA Group E winners	18 November 2025	17	2022	13	Winners (2010)
Austria	UEFA Group H winners	18 November 2025	9	1998	1	Third place (1954)
Belgium	UEFA Group J winners	18 November 2025	15	2022	4	Third place (2018)
Panama	CONCACAF third round Group A winners	18 November 2025	2	2018	1	Group stage (2018)
Curaçao	CONCACAF third round Group B winners	18 November 2025	1	—N/a	1	—N/a
Haiti	CONCACAF third round Group C winners	18 November 2025	2	1974	1	Group stage (1974)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	UEFA play-offs Path A winners	31 March 2026	2	2014	1	Group stage (2014)
Sweden	UEFA play-offs Path B winners	31 March 2026	13	2018	1	Runners-up (1958)
Turkey	UEFA play-offs Path C winners	31 March 2026	4	2002	1	Third place (2002)
Czech Republic	UEFA play-offs Path D winners	31 March 2026	10	2006	1	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
DR Congo	Inter-confederation Pathway 1 play-off winners	31 March 2026	2	1974	1	Group stage (1974)
Iraq	Inter-confederation Pathway 2 play-off winners	31 March 2026	2	1986	1	Group stage (1986)

1. Although the United bid was selected on 13 June 2018, the automatic berths allocated to the hosts were not confirmed until a decision by the FIFA Council on 14 February 2023.
2. Until 1991, Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union, which competed at seven World Cup tournaments. FIFA considers Russia to be the successor team of the Soviet Union.
3. The 1934 World Cup was a straight knockout tournament between 16 teams and did not feature a group stage.
4. France qualified 18 times, but only participated 17 times as they withdrew in 1950.
5. Until 1992, Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, which competed at eight World Cup tournaments. FIFA considers Serbia to be the successor team of Yugoslavia.
6. From 1950 to 1990, Germany competed as West Germany, as a separate East German team existed during that period.
7. Scotland qualified 10 times, but only participated 9 times as they withdrew in 1950.
8. Austria qualified 9 times, but only participated 8 times as they withdrew in 1938.
9. Turkey qualified 4 times, but only participated 3 times as they withdrew in 1950.
10. Includes eight appearances by Czechoslovakia, as FIFA considers Czech Republic and Slovakia to be joint successors.
11. From 1970 to 1998, DR Congo competed as Zaire.

Qualified teams facts

Debutants and returnees

• Cape Verde,Curaçao,Jordan, and Uzbekistan will all make their World Cup debuts.
• DR Congo and Haiti return to the tournament after appearing in their only previous tournament in 1974.
• Iraq returns to the tournament after appearing in their only previous tournament in 1986.
• Austria, Norway, and Scotland return to the tournament after last appearing in 1998.
• Turkey qualified for the first time since finishing third in 2002.
• Czech Republic qualified for the first time since 2006.
• New Zealand, Paraguay and 2010 hosts South Africa returned after last taking part in 2010. The South Africans achieved its first successful qualifying campaign since 2002.
• Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ivory Coast qualified for the first time since 2014. The Bosnians achieved their first successful qualification process for a major tournament since the 2014 World Cup.
• Colombia, Egypt, Panama, and Sweden made a return after missing out in 2022.
• Qatar advanced to the tournament through qualification for the first time, as it automatically qualified as host in 2022.

Absentees

• Four-time world champions Italy missed out on their third World Cup in a row, being defeated in the European playoff finals by Bosnia and Herzegovina, who themselves qualified for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup; coincidentally, the latest in which Italy took part.
• Nigeria, who last qualified in 2018, failed to advance, being the first time the country did not qualify for consecutive World Cups since before their first successful qualification in 1994.
• Cameroon, Costa Rica, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, and Wales, all of whom qualified for the 2022 World Cup, did not qualify for the 2026 tournament.

Other

• It will be the first time that two Caribbean nations (Curacao and Haiti), take part in the World Cup
• It will be the first time that eight Arab nations (Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia), qualified for the World Cup, an increase from four teams in 2018.
• Sweden advanced to the tournament through the play-offs for the first time, having secured a berth via the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C after finishing outside the top two in their qualifying group.

Qualification process

On 9 May 2017, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation scheme for the new 48-team final format.

Summary of qualification

Confederation	Direct slots	Change from 2022	Play-off slots	Teams started	Teams eliminated	Teams qualified	Qualifying start date	Qualifying end date
AFC	8	3	1	46	37	9	12 October 2023	18 November 2025
CAF	9	4	1	53	43	10	15 November 2023	16 November 2025
CONCACAF	3+3 (hosts)	3	2	32+3 (hosts)	29	3+3 (hosts)	22 March 2024	18 November 2025
CONMEBOL	6	2	1	10	4	6	7 September 2023	9 September 2025
OFC	1	1	1	11	10	1	6 September 2024	24 March 2025
UEFA	16	3	0	54	38	16	21 March 2025	31 March 2026
Play-offs	2		—N/a	(6)	(4)	(2)	26 March 2026	31 March 2026
Total	45+3 (hosts)	16	6	206+3 (hosts)	161	45+3	7 September 2023	31 March 2026

Suspensions and withdrawals

Russia were suspended indefinitely on 28 February 2022 from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions for the country's invasion of Ukraine. A circular distributed by UEFA on 11 November 2024 stated 192 group stage matches would take place, confirming Russia's exclusion from the tournament.

Sri Lanka were suspended in January 2023 for an unspecified reason, and they did not appear in the draw information the AFC released in early July. However, they were re-added with the condition that their federation would hold elections at least ten days before qualification would begin.

Eritrea withdrew from qualification on 10 November 2023, prior to playing any matches, having concerns that players would seek political asylum if allowed to travel overseas.

Congo were suspended on 6 February 2025 for government interference in Congolese Football Federation operations. No announcement regarding their status was immediately available, and CAF initially cancelled their remaining matches. The suspension was lifted by FIFA on 14 May 2025, and Tanzania and Zambia were awarded 3–0 victories by forfeit.

Format

Each confederation was responsible for its own qualification tournament, which consisted of at least one round of competition using the following formats (Regulations Article 11.3):

• A double round-robin (or "league") format in which each team in a group played all other teams in their group twice – once at home and once away.
• A single round-robin format in which each team in a group played all other teams in their group once, with the venues either drawn at random or assigned by the confederation with the agreement of the playing associations.
• A knockout format in which each team in a round played one other team over two legs – once at home and once away.
• With FIFA's permission, a tournament held in one of the participating nations or in neutral territory.
• With FIFA's permission, a single-leg knockout format.

Tiebreakers

In the round-robin and tournament formats, the tiebreaker criteria were as follows (Regulations Article 11.5):

1. Greatest number of points obtained in all group matches (3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss)
2. Greatest goal differential in all group matches
3. Most goals scored in all group matches

Should two or more teams still have equal rank after criteria 1–3 were applied, then the following criteria were used:

4. Greatest number of points obtained in all matches amongst the concerned teams
5. Greatest goal differential in all matches amongst the concerned teams
6. Most goals scored in all matches amongst the concerned teams
7. Most goals scored away from home in all matches amongst the concerned teams
8. The best team conduct score using the following table:
   1. First yellow card: –1 point
   2. Second yellow card/indirect red card: –3 points
   3. Direct red card: –4 points
   4. Yellow card and direct red card: –5 points
   Only one score was applied to any player or team official in any match, e.g. a player who received a second yellow card would only have –3 points applied and not –4 (–1 for the first and –3 for the second).
9. Drawing of lots by FIFA

If the tournament were held in a single host nation or in neutral territory, then criterion 7 would not be applied (Regulations Article 11.6).

In the home-and-away knockout format, the team scoring more goals on aggregate won the tie and advanced. If the aggregate score were level, then 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If the score were still level at the end of extra time, the away goals rule would not be applied and the winners would be decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 11.9). In the single-leg knockout format, the team scoring more goals in a single match wins and advances. If the teams were tied after regulation, then extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the score was still level (Regulations Article 11.10).

Confederation qualification

AFC

On 1 August 2022, the Asian Football Confederation Executive Committee approved the qualification format for Asia's road to the 2026 World Cup, as well as the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, in preparation for the eight direct spots and the single intercontinental play-off slot allocated to the AFC by FIFA following the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams. The draw for the first round was held on 27 July 2023 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The draw for the second round took place two hours later.

The qualification structure was as follows:

• First round: Twenty teams (ranked 27–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: Thirty-six teams (those ranked 1–26 and the ten first-round winners) were divided into nine groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eighteen group winners and group runners-up advanced to the third round.
• Third round: The eighteen teams that advanced from the second round were divided into three groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the World Cup, while the third-placed and fourth-placed teams of each group advanced to the fourth round.
• Fourth round: The six teams that advanced from the third round were drawn into two groups of three teams each to play a single round-robin. The winners qualified for the World Cup, and the runners-up advanced to the fifth round.
• Fifth round: The fourth round group runners-up competed in a two-legged play-off tie that determined the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-offs.

Final positions (third round)

Legend
Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Advanced to the fourth round

Group A Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Iran 10 23 2   Uzbekistan 10 21 3   United Arab Emirates 10 15 4   Qatar 10 13 5   Kyrgyzstan 10 8 6   North Korea 10 3 Source: AFC, FIFA

Group B Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   South Korea 10 22 2   Jordan 10 16 3   Iraq 10 15 4   Oman 10 11 5   Palestine 10 10 6   Kuwait 10 5 Source: AFC, FIFA

Group C Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Japan 10 23 2   Australia 10 19 3   Saudi Arabia 10 13 4   Indonesia 10 12 5   China 10 9 6   Bahrain 10 6 Source: AFC, FIFA

Final positions (fourth round)

Legend
Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Advanced to the fifth round

Group A Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Qatar (H) 2 4 2   United Arab Emirates 2 3 3   Oman 2 1 Source: AFC (H) Hosts

Group B Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Saudi Arabia (H) 2 4 2   Iraq 2 4 3   Indonesia 2 0 Source: AFC (H) Hosts

Final positions (fifth round)

The winner advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
United Arab Emirates	2–3	Iraq	1–1	1–2

CAF

The CAF Executive Committee announced a new African qualification format on 19 May 2023. The draw was held on 13 July 2023 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification. Eritrea withdrew before matches began due to fears that players would seek political asylum abroad.

The qualification structure was as follows:

• First round: Teams were drawn into nine groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winner of each group qualified for the World Cup.
• Second round: The four best-ranked group runners-up participated in a play-off to determine which team would advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Final positions (first round)

Legend
Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Advanced to the second round
Withdrew

Group A Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Egypt 10 26 2   Burkina Faso 10 21 3   Sierra Leone 10 15 4   Guinea-Bissau 10 10 5   Ethiopia 10 9 6   Djibouti 10 1 Source: FIFA	Group B Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Senegal 10 24 2   DR Congo 10 22 3   Sudan 10 13 4   Togo 10 8 5   Mauritania 10 7 6   South Sudan 10 5 Source: FIFA	Group C Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   South Africa 10 18 2   Nigeria 10 17 3   Benin 10 17 4   Lesotho 10 12 5   Rwanda 10 11 6   Zimbabwe 10 5 Source: FIFA
Group D Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Cape Verde 10 23 2   Cameroon 10 19 3   Libya 10 16 4   Angola 10 12 5   Mauritius 10 6 6   Eswatini 10 3 Source: FIFA	Group E Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Morocco 8 24 2   Niger 8 15 3   Tanzania 8 10 4   Zambia 8 9 5   Congo 8 1 6   Eritrea 0 0 Source: FIFA	Group F Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Ivory Coast 10 26 2   Gabon 10 25 3   Gambia 10 13 4   Kenya 10 12 5   Burundi 10 10 6   Seychelles 10 0 Source: FIFA
Group G Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Algeria 10 25 2   Uganda 10 18 3   Mozambique 10 18 4   Guinea 10 15 5   Botswana 10 10 6   Somalia 10 1 Source: FIFA	Group H Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Tunisia 10 28 2   Namibia 10 15 3   Liberia 10 15 4   Malawi 10 13 5   Equatorial Guinea 10 11 6   São Tomé and Príncipe 10 3 Source: FIFA	Group I Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Ghana 10 25 2   Madagascar 10 19 3   Mali 10 18 4   Comoros 10 15 5   Central African Republic 10 8 6   Chad 10 1 Source: FIFA

Due to Eritrea's withdrawal from qualification resulting in differing group sizes, results from matches against sixth-place teams were discounted when ranking group runners-up.

Ranking of runners-up

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	Pts
1	Gabon	8	19
2	DR Congo	8	16
3	Cameroon	8	15
4	Nigeria	8	15
5	Burkina Faso	8	15
6	Niger	8	15
7	Madagascar	8	13
8	Uganda	8	12
9	Namibia	8	9

Source: FIFA

Final positions (second round)

The teams were allocated into semi-finals based on their FIFA Men's World Ranking of 17 October 2025, with the highest-ranked side taking on the lowest and the second-highest taking on the third-highest.

The winner advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

	Semi-finals				Final
	13 November 2025 – Rabat (Hassan)
	Nigeria (a.e.t.)	4
					16 November 2025 – Rabat (Hassan)
	Gabon	1
					Nigeria	1 (3)
	13 November 2025 – Rabat (Al Barid)
					DR Congo (p)	1 (4)
	Cameroon	0
	DR Congo	1

CONCACAF

Three teams in CONCACAF—Canada, Mexico and the United States—automatically qualified as host nations. On 28 February 2023, CONCACAF announced the qualifying format for 2026 World Cup qualification.

• First round: Four CONCACAF teams, ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA ranking of December 2023, were divided into two matchups to be played on a two-legged home-and-away basis. The two winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: Thirty teams – the two winners from the first round and CONCACAF teams ranked 1 to 28 based on the FIFA ranking of December 2023 – were drawn into six groups of five teams. They played single round-robin matches (two home and two away), with group winners and runners-up advancing to the third round.
• Third round: The twelve teams that advanced from the second round were drawn into three groups of four teams. They played double round-robin home-and-away matches, with the three group winners qualifying for the World Cup. The two best-ranked runners-up advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Final positions (third round)

Legend
Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs

Group A Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Panama 6 12 2   Suriname 6 9 3   Guatemala 6 8 4   El Salvador 6 3 Source: FIFA

Group B Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Curaçao 6 12 2   Jamaica 6 11 3   Trinidad and Tobago 6 7 4   Bermuda 6 1 Source: FIFA

Group C Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Haiti 6 11 2   Honduras 6 9 3   Costa Rica 6 7 4   Nicaragua 6 4 Source: FIFA

Ranking of runners-up

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	Pts
1	Jamaica	6	11
2	Suriname	6	9
3	Honduras	6	9

Source: FIFA

CONMEBOL

On 22 August 2022, CONMEBOL petitioned FIFA to keep the qualification format which had been used since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, where all CONMEBOL members play home-and-away round-robin matches against each other. This was approved, with the first games of the qualifiers played in September 2023.

Before the qualification competition began, Ecuador were penalized 3 points for using falsified birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.

Final positions

Legend
Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	Pts
1	Argentina	18	38
2	Ecuador	18	29
3	Colombia	18	28
4	Uruguay	18	28
5	Brazil	18	28
6	Paraguay	18	28
7	Bolivia	18	20
8	Venezuela	18	18
9	Peru	18	12
10	Chile	18	11

Source: FIFA

OFC

The 2026 World Cup marked the first time OFC was granted one guaranteed slot, as well as a possible second slot via the inter-confederation play-offs.

The qualification structure was as follows:

• First round: The four lowest-ranked teams played a three-match knockout round in September 2024. The winner, Samoa, advanced to the second round.
• Second round: The winning team from the first round joined the seven highest-ranked teams in two four-team groups in October and November 2024. The top two teams from each group advanced to the third round.
• Third round: The four teams advancing from the second round played a three-match knockout round in March 2025. The winner, New Zealand, qualified for the World Cup, and the runner-up, New Caledonia, advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Final positions (third round)

The winner qualified for the World Cup, while the runner-up advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

	Semi-finals				Final
	21 March 2025 – Wellington
	New Caledonia	3
					24 March 2025 – Auckland
	Tahiti	0
					New Caledonia	0
	21 March 2025 – Wellington
					New Zealand	3
	New Zealand	7
	Fiji	0

UEFA

The UEFA Executive Committee announced a new European qualification format on 25 January 2023. Teams were drawn into twelve groups of four or five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches from March to November 2025. The group winners qualified for the World Cup, while the runners-up will participate in play-off matches, for a total of 16 teams qualifying for the finals.

The qualification draw took place on 13 December 2024 in Zürich, Switzerland. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia's national team was suspended, and their exclusion was confirmed in a circular distributed by UEFA on 11 November 2024.

• First round (group stage): Twelve groups of either four or five teams were drawn, with group winners qualifying for the World Cup.
• Second round (play-off): Sixteen teams (twelve group runners-up and the four best Nations League group winners, based on the 2024–25 Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group) were drawn into four play-off paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals with the seeded teams hosting, followed by finals, with the home teams drawn from the semi-final pairings). The four path winners qualified for the World Cup.

Final positions (first round)

Legend
Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Advanced to the second round

Group A Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Germany 6 15 2   Slovakia 6 12 3   Northern Ireland 6 9 4   Luxembourg 6 0 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group B Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1    Switzerland 6 14 2   Kosovo 6 11 3   Slovenia 6 4 4   Sweden 6 2 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group C Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Scotland 6 13 2   Denmark 6 11 3   Greece 6 7 4   Belarus 6 2 Source: FIFA, UEFA
Group D Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   France 6 16 2   Ukraine 6 10 3   Iceland 6 7 4   Azerbaijan 6 1 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group E Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Spain 6 16 2   Turkey 6 13 3   Georgia 6 3 4   Bulgaria 6 3 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group F Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Portugal 6 13 2   Republic of Ireland 6 10 3   Hungary 6 8 4   Armenia 6 3 Source: FIFA, UEFA
Group G Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Netherlands 8 20 2   Poland 8 17 3   Finland 8 10 4   Malta 8 5 5   Lithuania 8 3 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group H Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Austria 8 19 2   Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 17 3   Romania 8 13 4   Cyprus 8 8 5   San Marino 8 0 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group I Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Norway 8 24 2   Italy 8 18 3   Israel 8 12 4   Estonia 8 4 5   Moldova 8 1 Source: FIFA, UEFA
Group J Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Belgium 8 18 2   Wales 8 16 3   North Macedonia 8 13 4   Kazakhstan 8 8 5   Liechtenstein 8 0 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group K Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   England 8 24 2   Albania 8 14 3   Serbia 8 13 4   Latvia 8 5 5   Andorra 8 1 Source: FIFA, UEFA	Group L Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1   Croatia 8 22 2   Czech Republic 8 16 3   Faroe Islands 8 12 4   Montenegro 8 9 5   Gibraltar 8 0 Source: FIFA, UEFA

Final positions (second round)

The winners of each path qualified for the World Cup.

Path A

	Semi-finals				Final
	26 March 2026 – Cardiff
	Wales	1 (2)
					31 March 2026 – Zenica
	Bosnia and Herzegovina (p)	1 (4)
					Bosnia and Herzegovina (p)	1 (4)
	26 March 2026 – Bergamo
					Italy	1 (1)
	Italy	2
	Northern Ireland	0

Path B

	Semi-finals				Final
	26 March 2026 – Valencia
	Ukraine	1
					31 March 2026 – Solna
	Sweden	3
					Sweden	3
	26 March 2026 – Warsaw
					Poland	2
	Poland	2
	Albania	1

Path C

	Semi-finals				Final
	26 March 2026 – Bratislava
	Slovakia	3
					31 March 2026 – Pristina
	Kosovo	4
					Kosovo	0
	26 March 2026 – Istanbul
					Turkey	1
	Turkey	1
	Romania	0

Path D

	Semi-finals				Final
	26 March 2026 – Prague
	Czech Republic (p)	2 (4)
					31 March 2026 – Prague
	Republic of Ireland	2 (3)
					Czech Republic (p)	2 (3)
	26 March 2026 – Copenhagen
					Denmark	2 (1)
	Denmark	4
	North Macedonia	0

Inter-confederation play-offs

A play-off tournament involving six teams – one each from AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC and two from CONCACAF – was held to decide two FIFA World Cup berths. The bottom four teams in the November 2025 FIFA World Rankings were drawn into two single-elimination matches. The winners of those matches advanced to play the top two teams in a further round of single-elimination matches, and the winners qualified for the World Cup. The play-offs were held in March 2026 in Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico.

	Semi-final				Final
					31 March 2026 – Zapopan
					DR Congo (a.e.t.)	1
	26 March 2026 – Zapopan
					Jamaica	0
	New Caledonia	0
	Jamaica	1

	Semi-final				Final
					31 March 2026 – Guadalupe
					Iraq	2
	26 March 2026 – Guadalupe
					Bolivia	1
	Bolivia	2
	Suriname	1

Top goalscorers

There were 2,527 goals scored in 899 matches, for an average of 2.81 goals per match.

16 goals

•   Erling Haaland

12 goals

•   Almoez Ali

10 goals

•   Mohamed Amoura
•   Mehdi Taremi
•   Son Heung-min

9 goals

•   Mohamed Salah
•   Aymen Hussein
•   Ali Olwan
•   Chris Wood

8 goals

•   Lionel Messi
•   Marko Arnautović
•   Miguel Terceros
•   Harry Kane
•   Denis Bouanga
•   Sardar Azmoun
•   Ayase Ueda
•   Yazan Al-Naimat
•   Kamory Doumbia
•   Memphis Depay
•   Victor Osimhen
•   Fábio Lima

Below are goalscorer lists for all confederations and the inter-confederation play-offs:

• AFC
• CAF
• CONCACAF
• CONMEBOL
• OFC
• UEFA
• Inter-confederation play-offs

See also

• 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification