World Cup 2026: Who has qualified already?

The two-year qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup is nearly done, with multiple nations booking their spots in next summer’s tournament in recent days.

The most recent qualifiers have mostly come from Africa, which concludes its qualifying process on Tuesday. There are some familiar powers among the six teams to qualify from the continent thus far in October, including Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa. However, tiny Cape Verde — with a population under 600,000 — is also on the list, having stunned Cameroon to claim the top spot in Group D in the Confederation of African Football’s qualifying process.

Tuesday saw Qatar become the 24th country to claim one of the 48 available World Cup berths, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States set to host a newly-expanded format next year. They won’t be alone in doing so, with all of Africa’s nine direct spots set to be settled by the end of Tuesday’s schedule of games. England and Portugal could join them as well after dominating their European qualifying groups.

There are also pivotal matches in Concacaf (the region comprising North and Central America, along with the Caribbean) and elsewhere in Europe, with some teams having to endure a tense wait for the next round of qualifying in November to discover their fate.

Here’s what to know about where qualifying stands for the 2026 World Cup, including who could secure their berth next:

Who has qualified for World Cup 2026?

The 2026 World Cup will include 48 teams, a huge jump up from the 32 that participated in Qatar 2022. As October’s qualifiers play out, 24 nations have qualified.

Here is a complete list of every country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as of the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 14:

Host nations: Canada, Mexico, United States
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia
Concacaf: None yet
Europe: None yet
Oceania: New Zealand
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

World Cup qualifying: Who could clinch a 2026 spot next?

There aren’t that many rounds of World Cup qualifying left to get through, though each confederation’s schedule and process mean each continent will wrap up at different points.

At the moment, there are 15 teams in four different confederations that could claim a place at the 2026 World Cup with the right results in the coming days:

Austria: After missing out on six straight men’s World Cups, Austria could clinch a berth next month. A win on Nov. 15 at Cyprus combined with Bosnia and Herzegovina failing to defeat Romania would mean party time in Vienna.
Croatia: The Faroe Islands’ shock win over the Czech Republic on Sunday means that Croatia needs just one more point to win Group L and qualify for an eighth straight World Cup. The Croats host the Faroese on Nov. 14 in Rijeka.
DR Congo: ‘Les Léopards’ kept their hopes alive Friday with a 1-0 win at Togo, but the path to qualifying this week is very difficult. DR Congo must defeat Sudan Tuesday and hope for Senegal to fail to defeat Mauritania. Should the Senegalese secure a draw, DR Congo will need to make up a seven-goal disadvantage for goal difference purposes to win Group B.
England: The Three Lions are one win away from clinching out of UEFA’s Group K. All that’s left to do is secure victory at Latvia on Tuesday.
France: ‘Les Bleus’ nearly won UEFA’s Group D after just four rounds of games, but will have to wait until November for a shot at finishing the job. France hosts second-place Ukraine in Paris on Nov. 13, and a win would guarantee the hosts a spot at the World Cup.
Gabon: Gabon kept their hopes alive, but it required Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score four goals in a 4-3 comeback win over Gambia on Friday. ‘Les Panthères’ need to defeat Burundi on Tuesday and see Ivory Coast fail to defeat Kenya, or get a draw combined with the highly unlikely outcome of Ivory Coast losing by at least 11 goals on the final matchday in Group F.
Honduras: ‘Los Catrachos’ have a path to clinch in the next round of play in Concacaf’s Group C. A win at Nicaragua on Nov. 13 combined with a draw between Haiti and Costa Rica in a game played earlier that same day would give Honduras entry into their fourth World Cup ever.
Iraq: A tense 1-0 win over Indonesia on Saturday has Iraq one victory away from a second-ever World Cup appearance. It’s going to be tough, though: the match is at Saudi Arabia, and the hosts will kick off knowing that a draw is enough for them. If Iraq can’t secure a win, they will have a second chance: a two-game series next month for Asia’s spot in the intercontinental playoff next year.
Ivory Coast: A 7-0 win on Friday over Seychelles didn’t quite finish the job for ‘the Elephants,’ as Gabon’s wild 4-3 win over Gambia kept Group F’s top spot up for grabs. A home win over Kenya on Tuesday will send Ivory Coast to the World Cup, but a draw or loss opens the door for Gabon to claim the place instead.
Netherlands: The Dutch control their own destiny in UEFA’s Group G. A win on Nov. 14 at Poland would clinch a place at next summer’s tournament for the ‘Oranje.’
Norway: The Norwegians have been a surprise in Group I, with Erling Haaland and Co. one win away from mathematical certainty of a World Cup spot. A win on Nov. 13 over Estonia would seal the deal, and a draw could work as well should Italy lose to Israel on Tuesday.
Portugal: With a win and some help on Tuesday, Portugal could clinch a World Cup spot. A victory against Hungary combined with a Republic of Ireland win/draw against Armenia would assure the Portuguese of first place in UEFA’s Group F, which would send them to the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is on the brink of claiming one of Asia’s last automatic berths. A win or draw against Iraq on Tuesday in Jeddah will seal the deal, while a loss would send the Saudis into a home-and-away battle to claim Asia’s place in next year’s intercontinental playoff.
Senegal: The ‘Lions of Teranga’ will qualify from Group B if they can win their final game, a home clash with Mauritania on Tuesday, or if DR Congo fails to defeat Sudan in a match that will be played simultaneously in Kinshaha. With a two-point lead and a seven-goal advantage on goal difference, Senegal would almost certainly clinch with a draw, as DR Congo would have to win and bridge that tiebreaker gap to boot.
Switzerland: The Swiss will head into the November window with a chance at clinching in UEFA’s Group B. All they need to do is pick up a better result than Kosovo on Nov. 15. A Swiss win plus Kosovo draw, or Swiss draw and Kosovo loss, will settle the issue.

World Cup qualifiers: How many spots for each region?

Here is a complete breakdown of how FIFA divided all 48 berths at the 2026 World Cup:

Host nations (3): Canada, Mexico and the United States all qualified as soon as they were picked to host the tournament.
Asia (8): Six Asian countries have qualified. The Asian Football Confederation’s fourth round (which will settle who claims the final two automatic bids) will conclude on Tuesday.
Africa (9): African qualifying sorted 54 countries into nine groups of six (though Eritrea withdrew from Group E before play began). Group winners all qualify, while the best four runners-up will have a pathway to the intercontinental playoff. Seven berths have already been claimed.
Concacaf (3): The region’s third round — featuring three groups of four — began on Thursday, Sept. 4. Group winners qualify directly, while the two best runners-up will enter the intercontinental playoff.
Europe (16): UEFA qualifying features 54 teams broken up into 12 groups. Group winners qualify for the World Cup, while the second-place finishers (along with the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn’t win their qualifying groups) will enter a playoff for Europe’s final four berths that is set for March 2026.
Oceania (1): New Zealand has already claimed Oceania’s only guaranteed berth at the 2026 World Cup, while New Caledonia is headed to the intercontinental playoff.
South America (6): CONMEBOL’s marathon qualifying tournament has concluded, with six teams getting places at the World Cup. A seventh (Bolivia) claimed the region’s spot in the intercontinental playoff.
Intercontinental playoff (2): New Caledonia and Bolivia have locked in spots in what will be a six-team tournament scheduled for March 2026.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY