Early next month, the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in Washington DC.There will be 48 teams in the pot on December 5, including England, who have already qualified, and hosts USA, Canada and Mexico. But who else will be at the World Cup?
The last international break of the year over the next fortnight will see nations book their place at the tournament and others miss out (but still potentially have the chance to qualify via a UEFA Nations League spot – more on that later).
How will it all shake out? We run through the qualifying picture for Europe and beyond.
Who has qualified for the World Cup?
More than half of the spots at the 2026 World Cup are already filled.
The 30 teams to have qualified so far are:
- Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA
- AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
- CAF: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
- CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
- OFC: New Zealand
- UEFA: England, France, Croatia
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Who will qualify from Europe?
Only the group winners qualify automatically from the 12 groups in Europe.
The 12 runners-up and the four best Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, go into the play-offs in March.
The first tie-breaker in all the groups if teams finish level on points is goal difference.
It’s tight in Group A, where Germany and Slovakia are level on points.
Northern Ireland suffered a dramatic 1-0 defeat at Slovakia on Friday, but Croatia’s win over the Faroe Islands means they are now guaranteed a World Cup play-off, as an unseeded UEFA Nations League group winner.
They will have an away semi-final against a Pot 1 team, which could be Italy. The result also boosted Slovakia’s own hopes of making it to the tournament in North America next summer, with a trip away to Germany on Monday set to decide who wins Group A.
Nick Woltemade scored twice in Germany’s 2-0 win in Luxembourg, which kept them at the top of the group on goal difference.
Group AGames playedGoal differencePointsGermany5+712Slovakia5+412Northern Ireland506Luxembourg5-110Switzerland still lead the way in Group B on 13 points, ahead of Kosovo on 10, and their 4-1 victory over Graham Potter’s Sweden has all-but guaranteed a place at the World Cup due to their far superior goal difference.
Kosovo face Switzerland in their final group game on November 18 knowing that in all likelihood they must settle for a play-off spot.
It has been a disastrous campaign for Sweden, who have at least guaranteed spot in March’s play-offs, thanks to their Uefa Nations League position.
Group BGames playedGoal differencePointsSwitzerland5+1313Kosovo5+110Slovenia5-53Sweden5-81In Group C, Scotland will host Denmark in a winner-takes-all tie for automatic World Cup qualification on Tuesday at Hampden Park.It comes after Steve Clarke’s side were beaten 3-2 in Greece while the Danes were surprisingly held to a 2-2 draw at home to Belarus.
Denmark hold a one-point lead at the top, meaning a draw is enough for them to progress automatically and leave Scotland heading for the play-offs.
Group CGames playedGoal differencePointsDenmark5+1111Scotland5+410Greece5-26Belarus5-131France have secured top spot in Group D and subsequent qualification with a 4-0 win over Ukraine.
The battle for a play-off place will go to the wire as Iceland leapfrogged Ukraine into second on goal difference with a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan.
It means Iceland only need a draw against Ukraine when the sides go head-to-head on Sunday, November 16.
Group DGames playedGoal differencePointsFrance5+1013Iceland5+47Ukraine5-37Azerbaijan5-111Spain are on the brink of automatic qualification in Group E, sitting on 15 points, three ahead of Turkey with one round of fixtures to play.
Their far superior goal difference of 14 over Turkey means the reigning European champions would need to lose 7-0 at home in the final game between both sides to miss out on a guaranteed spot at the World Cup.
Group EGames playedGoal differencePointsSpain5+1915Turkey5+512Georgia5-73Bulgaria5-170Portugal have not yet confirmed their place as Group F winners after they were stunned by Republic of Ireland on Thursday, on a night Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off.
Roberto Martinez’s side will be confident of completing the job when they host Armenia on November 16, while Ireland have renewed hope of making the play-offs.
Should Ireland beat Hungary in Budapest on November 16, they will sneak into the play-offs, but the Hungarians know a victory will secure their place in the top two – and potentially even top spot if Portugal fail to beat Armenia.
Group FGames playedGoal differencePointsPortugal5+510Hungary5+28Republic of Ireland5+17Armenia5-83
In Group G, the Netherlands are all but guaranteed a spot at the World Cup after holding Poland to a 1-1 draw in Warsaw. The Dutch sit three points above the Poles with a significantly stronger goal difference. Poland would need a 13-goal swing in the final round of fixtures, with the Netherlands at home to Lithuania and Poland in Malta.
Earlier on Friday, Finland’s 1-0 defeat to Malta ended their hopes of reaching the finals.
Group GGames playedGoal differencePointsNetherlands7+1917Poland7+614Finland8-610Malta7-145Lithuania7-5 3 Austria are still top of Group H by two points, ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They beat Cyprus 2-0 on Saturday, while Bosnia and Herzegovina overcame Romania 3-1, setting up a mouth-watering winner-takes-all clash in Vienna on November 18.
Austria know that a draw would guarantee a place at the World Cup.
Group HGames playedGoal differencePointsAustria7+1818Bosnia & Herzegovina7+1016Romania7+310Cyprus808San Marino7-310
Norway, with seven wins from seven matches, look poised to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.
They lead Group I by three points, ahead of Italy, and have a huge goal difference advantage.
Norway finish qualifying with a trip to Milan to face Italy on November 16.
Group IGames playedGoal differencePointsNorway7+2921Italy7+1218Israel7-49Estonia8-134Moldova7-241Belgium top Group J but they failed to secure qualification on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan.
The Red Devils face Liechtenstein in their final qualifier, meaning it is still likely they will qualify automatically.
After a narrow 1-0 win over Liechtenstein, Wales must now defeat North Macedonia in their final Group J match in Cardiff on Tuesday to secure second place behind Belgium and guarantee a home play-off semi-final in March.
If they fail to win at Cardiff City Stadium, Craig Bellamy’s squad will still qualify for the play-offs courtesy of their Nations League performance, but they would face a one-legged semi-final away from home.
North Macedonia know they could also top the group if they win their final game, and Belgium were to lose at home to Liechtenstein.
Group JGames playedGoal differencePointsBelgium7+1515North Macedonia7+913Wales7+413Kazakhstan8-48Liechtenstein7-240England have already won Group K, with Albania securing second place with a 1-0 win over Andorra.The Three Lions extended their perfect run with a 2-0 win over Serbia and complete their campaign against Albania on November 16.Group KGames playedGoal differencePointsEngland7+2021Albania7+414Serbia7-210Latvia7-95Andorra8-131Croatia’s 3-1 victory over the Faroes guaranteed their place at the World Cup as they can no longer be caught by Czech Republic in Group L. By contrast, the Faroe Islands’ slim qualification hopes are now over.
The Czechs are assured of a play-off spot as a result of Croatia’s win. Montenegro won 2-1 at Gibraltar, but neither nation are able to finish inside the top two.
Group LGames playedGoal differencePointsCroatia7+2119Czech Republic7+413Faroe Islands8+212Montenegro7-89Gibraltar7-190
Who can qualify via the Nations League?
Even if teams miss out on the 2026 World Cup via qualifying over the next fortnight, all is not lost.
There are still four spots available to the best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that do not finish in first or second place in a World Cup qualifying group.
Wales, Northern Ireland and Sweden could benefit from the Nations League route as they were group winners.
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Even San Marino could secure a play-off spot as Nations League group winners.
To do so, they would likely need to lose their final two World Cup qualifying games and hope Romania secure second spot in the group, which would mean they don’t use their play-off spot as Nations League group winners.
The 2024/25 Nations League group winners were: Portugal, France, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, England, Norway, Wales, Sweden, Romania, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, San Marino and Moldova.
CAF and CONCACAF spots up for grabs
There will be play-offs in African qualifying over the next fortnight to determine the final four CAF teams at the World Cup.
Nigeria – who defeated Gabon 4-1 in the semi-final – will play DR Congo, conquerors of Cameroon, in a play-off final on November 16.
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In CONCACAF, there are three groups of four teams, with the winners securing spots at the World Cup and the top two runners-up going into the intercontinental play-offs.
It is all to play for in Group A, with Suriname and Panama on nine points and Guatemala on five.
Group B sees Curacao leading on 11 points, with Jamaica on 10.
Honduras head Group C on eight points, the same number as Haiti. Costa Rica are on six points.
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