World Cup Qualifying

The FIFA World Cup qualification is an exciting two to three-year long event. The occasion, organized by FIFA, gathers national teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, North and Central America and Caribbean, and Oceania. The World Cup qualification is a group qualification event in which over 200 footballing nations compete for 47 spots to join the chosen hosts in the FIFA World Cup finals. The ultimate tournament takes place every four years.

Qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) will kick off in 2023, with the last qualifying games set to be played months before the start of the competition. The 2026 edition will have out a total of 45 spots, as all hosts will be given a chance to play in the competition, while countries from six confederations battle for the rest of the tickets. The 2026 World Cup qualifying dates and places in the finals are as follows, per confederation:

AFC World Cup qualifying:

- 46 Nations involved

- Qualifiers from October 2023 to November 2025

- Inter-confederation play-offs scheduled for March 2026.

- 8 direct spots at stake, plus one more possibly available via inter-confederation playoffs.

CAF World Cup qualifying:

- 54 Nations involved

- Qualifiers start on November 2023 and will go on until November 2025.

- 9 spots at stake, plus one more possibly available via inter-confederation playoffs.

CONCACAF World Cup qualifying:

- 32 Nations involved

- Qualifiers start in March 2024 and will conclude in November 2025.

- Inter-confederation play-offs scheduled for March 2026.

- Three spots already allocated to the hosts, 3 more direct spots at stake, two more teams will also participate in the inter-confederation playoffs.

CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying:

- 10 Nations involved

- Qualifiers start in September 2023 and will come to an end in September 2025.

- Inter-confederation play-offs scheduled for March 2026.

- 6 direct spots at stake, one more available via inter-confederation playoffs.

OFC World Cup qualifying:

- 11 Nations involved.

- Qualifiers set to start in September 2024 and will conclude in March 2025.

- One spot available for OFC members, one more possibly available via inter-confederation playoffs.

UEFA World Cup qualifying:

- 55 Nations involved

- Qualifiers will start in March 2025 and will come to an end in March 2026.

- All teams will be divided into 12 groups. Each group winner will qualify to the World Cup.

Four additional spots will be sorted out between the runners-up of the group stage and the top four teams in the UEFA Nations League.

No inter-continental playoffs required.