2026 World Cup: Qualified countries, spots, format and dates | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico will be the first to be played with 48 national teams, featuring 104 matches from the group stage to the grand final.

There are already 29 teams directly qualified and two others that have secured a spot in the intercontinental playoff, which will be played in March. With everything already decided in South America and Oceania, attention now turns to Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central America and the Caribbean, which will conclude their qualifiers in this November window.

Below, everything you need to know about the qualifying format, playoffs, and tournament matches.

Qualified Teams

Qualified for the Playoff

Spots for the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 Men's World Cup will have 12 groups of four teams each. The top two from each group and the eight best third-placed teams will qualify.

These are the spots for each confederation, according to FIFA:

Conmebol (South America): 6 direct spots + 1 for the playoff tournament

UEFA (Europe): 16 direct spots

Concacaf (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean): 6 direct spots + 2 for the playoff tournament

AFC (Asia): 8 direct spots + 1 for the playoff tournament

CAF (Africa): 9 direct spots + 1 for the playoff tournament

OFC (Oceania): 1 direct spot + 1 for the playoff tournament

When Will Each Confederation's Qualified Teams Be Decided?

The final dates for the qualifiers in each confederation.

Conmebol (South America): September 9, 2025

UEFA (Europe): March 31, 2026

Concacaf (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean): November 18, 2025

AFC (Asia): November 18, 2025

CAF (Africa): November 18, 2025

OFC (Oceania): March 24, 2025

By the end of 2025, 42 of the 48 teams qualified for the World Cup will be known.

Playoff System and Dates

For this World Cup, the final stage of the qualifying process replaces the traditional inter-confederation playoff series with the aim of balancing continental representation after the tournament's expansion from 32 to 48 teams.

It is a tournament with six teams: one representative from each confederation that earned a playoff spot (except UEFA) and an additional spot for Concacaf as the host region. The format is as follows: the four lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings will play two semifinals, while the two highest-ranked teams advance directly to the finals of each bracket. These matches will be played in March 2026.

The winners of those finals will secure the last two spots for the World Cup.

Why Did Argentina Have to Play the Qualifiers Despite Being Defending Champions?

Even though the team led by Lionel Scaloni won the previous World Cup, their presence in the next World Cup was not automatic, as was traditionally the case in many previous editions.

In 2002, FIFA changed the rule that allowed the champion to defend its title in the next competition. As a result, Brazil, which won in Korea-Japan that year, had to play the qualifiers to go to the 2006 World Cup.

Argentina finished top of the South American qualifiers. They qualified for the 2026 World Cup after the 0-0 draw between Bolivia and Uruguay on March 25, the same day they thrashed Brazil 4-1 at the Monumental.

The Opening Kickoff Will Be at the Legendary Azteca Stadium

On June 11, 2026, the opening match will be played at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

In addition to the Mexican capital, the other 12 venues are: Monterrey, Guadalajara, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The final of the 2026 World Cup will be played at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.