written by James T. Abel Adesitimi
Seven teams have already qualified for the FIFA World Cup next year. This includes the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the co-host countries.
Next year’s FIFA World Cup, which the United States, Mexico, and Canada will co-host, will feature an expanded 48-team competition. So far, 7 well-known teams have already guaranteed their spots.
Below is the continental breakdown for qualification spots for the 48-team event.
- UEFA (Europe): 16 slots, CAF (Africa): 9 slots, AFC (Asia): 8 slots, CONMEBOL (South America): 6 slots, CONCACAF (North & Central America): 6 slots, OFC (Oceania): 1 slot, and Intercontinental playoffs: 2 slots.
Oceania has been granted a guaranteed spot at the World Cup for the first time. New Zealand defeated New Caledonia 3-0 to secure the spot. New Caledonia will compete in the intercontinental playoffs, which could result in another member of the continent attending the World Cup.
7 Teams that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup
USA, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Iran, New Zealand, Argentina.
According to the regulations, the three host nations: the United States, Mexico, and Canada, are automatically qualified to compete in the FIFA World Cup. The remaining teams selected for next year’s Football World Cup are as follows:
Asia: Japan became the first to qualify on March 20 after defeating Bahrain 2-0, while Iran qualified on March 25 after a 2-2 tie with Uzbekistan.
Oceania: On March 24, New Zealand defeated New Caledonia 3-0 to earn a spot.
Intercontinental playoffs: In March 2026, the final two qualifiers will be decided in the playoffs.
There will be six participating countries. Apart from UEFA, one nation will be provided by each of the five confederations. The second slot goes to the host confederation, which is Concacaf for this season.
1 Africa, 1 Asia, 2 Concacaf, 1 South America, 1 Oceania (New Caledonia)
The two countries that rank highest in the FIFA World Ranking will be seeded and advance directly to one of the two finals.
The remaining four nations will advance to the semifinals and compete for a seed in one of the two World Cup spots. One of the World Cup host countries is scheduled to host the playoffs as a test event.
The incoming 2026 FIFA World Cup is going to be an interesting one,
-Deeprows Sports
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