The picture for the 2026 FIFA World Cup became clearer on Tuesday as a number of top teams from across the continent booked their tickets to soccer’s global trade show.
After the latest qualifying round, the number of confirmed teams has increased to 28, but a further 20 teams will be filled by the various federation play-offs, intercontinental play-offs and, in the case of Europe, the main qualification stage that still needs to be completed.
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England, South Africa and Qatar were among the favorite names to qualify for Tuesday’s tournament.
Al Jazeera Sports will be keeping an eye on the tournament as countries from all over the world compete for the title.
When and where will the 2026 FIFA World Cup be held?
This tournament will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The first match will be held in Mexico City on June 11th, and the final match will be held in New Jersey, USA, on July 19th.
The tournament expanded from 32 to 48 teams, making the 39-day event the longest in history.
When will all the teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup be known?
FIFA’s intercontinental playoffs will be the last chance for teams around the world to qualify for next summer’s competition. The final day of that route will be March 31, 2026, less than three months until the World Cup starts. The European qualification process will continue until March, but most of the remaining federations will have finished their continental qualification processes long before then.
What is the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff?
Once the respective federations have completed their qualification process, FIFA will offer two final spots for the top-ranked teams in each of the six continental routes that have not yet qualified.
When is the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The full list of teams for the event will not be known until the end of March 2026, but the draw will take place on December 5, 2025.
28/48 ✅@Aramco | #WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/eaksBnrBYM
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 14, 2025
Where will the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw be held?
The drawing will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. US President Donald Trump spoke in the Oval Office of the White House, flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and confirmed the location. He also did not rule out the possibility of overseeing the lottery itself.
What format will the 2026 FIFA World Cup take?
With the number of participating teams expanded to 48, there will be 12 groups of four teams participating in the World Cup. This will result in 32 rounds and an additional knockout round to the previous edition.
In fact, the tournament doubled in size when it was held in the United States in 1994, when only 24 teams competed.
Can Trump sway the game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
President Trump has been very clear and consistent about holding games in the United States, saying he will move them from cities he deems unsafe.
On September 26, when asked about relocating the games, President Trump warned, “Well, it’s an interesting question…but we’re going to make sure it’s safe.[Seattle and San Francisco]are run by radical left-wing lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing.”
How will the 2026 FIFA World Cup match stages be divided between the host countries?
Games will be held in 11 U.S. cities: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle.
Canada will host a total of 13 games in Toronto and Vancouver. Mexico will also play 13 matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
Where will the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final be held?
The final will be hosted by the United States and will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Who is the defending FIFA World Cup champion?
Argentina won the last FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022, defeating France in the final.
After overtime, the score was 3-3, and Argentina won 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
Will the weather affect the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches?
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup was held in the United States, but the heat and accompanying thunderstorms proved to be a major problem for the tournament.
Three stadiums in Arlington, Atlanta and Houston have retractable roofs and are expected to be closed due to the summer heat, while Inglewood and Vancouver have fixed roofs.
Which teams have already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Following the latest qualifying round, here is the breakdown of the confirmed contestants from each of the six regions.
Venue: Canada, Mexico, USA
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Europe: United Kingdom
Oceania: New Zealand
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
Which teams will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Africa: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Nigeria play off for the final spot on the continent. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the first match will be played on November 13, with the deciding match to be played three days later.
Asia: The UAE and Iraq will compete for one spot in the intercontinental play-offs over two matches in the final stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers on November 13th and 18th.
Europe: 53 of Europe’s 54 teams competing for 16 qualifying spots can still qualify alongside England, with first-round matches to be played until November 18. European qualifying runs until March, just before the intercontinental play-offs begin.
North, Central America and the Caribbean: The World Cup host country has already claimed three spots, leaving three spots available. Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curaçao, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago will advance to the third round, with a winner to be determined by November 18th. The three second-place teams from each group will compete for a spot in the intercontinental playoffs.
Oceania: New Caledonia qualified for the intercontinental play-offs.
South America: Bolivia missed out on one of the six automatic spots but qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.
