The 2026 World Cup, the first edition of the tournament to be co-hosted by three nations in the USA, Canada and Mexico, is shaping up to be the biggest in the competition’s history. With the March international break now behind us, the full list of qualified teams and those eliminated has been officially confirmed.
During the March international window, six spots were still up for grabs through the playoff rounds, four of them reserved for UEFA nations and two through the FIFA international playoffs. On the European side, Bosnia & Herzegovina produced the biggest surprise by knocking out Italy, with Turkey, Sweden and the Czech Republic rounding out the UEFA playoff qualifiers.
In the FIFA international playoffs, DR Congo defeated Jamaica 1-0 and Iraq edged Bolivia 2-1 to claim the final two spots. With that, all 48 teams have been assigned to their respective groups, setting the stage for a tournament where only one nation will lift the trophy in North America.
Full list of qualified teams and their respective groups
All 48 qualified national teams, organized by group for the 2026 World Cup, are as follows:
FIFA World Cup 2026 groups.
- Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, and Czech Republic.
- Group B: Canada, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland.
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland.
- Group D: USMNT, Paraguay, Australia, and Turkiye.
- Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador.
- Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia.
- Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand.
- Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay.
- Group I: France, Senegal, Bolivia o Iraq, and Norway.
- Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
- Group K: Portugal, Congo DR, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.
see also
FIFA confirms rule changes for 2026 World Cup with VAR expansion and new time management measures
All nations eliminated from the 2026 World Cup
One of the defining features of the 2026 edition is its expanded field, making it the largest World Cup in history. Unlike previous tournaments, which featured 32 teams spread across 8 groups, this edition will see 48 nations compete across 12 groups in the opening round.
While every confederation saw its allocation increase, a significant number of nations still fell short of qualification. Listed alphabetically by confederation, the teams that will not be taking part in the 2026 World Cup are the following:
UEFA (36)
- Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Wales.
CONMEBOL (4)
- Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia.
CAF (43)
- Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malaui, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius ,Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria ,Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
AFC (37)
- Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China PR, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Yemen.
CONCACAF (28)
- Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nicaragua Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and US Virgin Islands.
OFC (10)
- American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
