<p>The October international window has finished and 28 teams have now qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.</p> <p>This is the first time that 48 teams will play for the Jules Rimet trophy, which means qualifying has been slightly different, with the various confederations taking their own unique approach.</p> <p>Here’s an update on where qualifying stands with each of the five confederations.</p> <p><strong>AFC (Asia)</strong></p> <p>The Socceroos have already clinched a spot in the 2026 World Cup and have tuned up with friendlies against New Zealand, Canada and the USA.</p> <p>There are 7 other automatic qualifiers who will join Tony Popovic’s squad at the World Cup.</p> <p>Automatic qualifiers (group winners):</p> <p><strong>Iran</strong></p> <p><strong>South Korea</strong></p> <p><strong>Japan</strong></p> <p>Automatic qualifiers (group runners-up):</p> <p><strong>Uzbekistan</strong></p> <p><strong>Jordan</strong></p> <p><strong>Australia</strong></p> <p>Automatic qualifiers (Round 4 playoffs):</p> <p><strong>Saudi Arabia </strong></p> <p><strong>Qatar</strong></p> <p>After Saudi Arabia and Qatar won their respective groups in Round 4, the two runners-up – Iraq and UAE – will now meet in a two-legged qualifier for a spot in the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p><strong>CAF (Africa)</strong></p> <p>This seemingly straightforward qualifying process – 9 groups, with each group winner qualifying automatically – proved to be anything but straightforward.</p> <p>As often happens in Africa, the qualifiers are a mix of the usual suspects and some real surprises.</p> <p>9 nations have qualified automatically by winning their groups, with another four advancing to a playoff. The winner of that playoff moves on to the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p>Qualified automatically (group winners):</p> <p><strong>Egypt </strong></p> <p><strong>Senegal </strong></p> <p><strong>South Africa </strong></p> <p><strong>Cape Verde </strong></p> <p><strong>Morocco </strong></p> <p><strong>Cote d’Ivoire </strong></p> <p><strong>Algeria </strong></p> <p><strong>Tunisia </strong></p> <p><strong>Ghana </strong></p> <p>Now the four best group runners-up – with results against last place teams in those groups thrown out – will advance to a playoff.</p> <p>Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon and Nigeria will compete in a November playoff (two semi-finals and a final) to determine which team will advance to the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p><strong>CONMEBOL (South America)</strong></p> <p>There was little change to how the South American nations qualified. The 10 countries all played each other twice, with the top 6 teams automatically qualifying for the World Cup and the 7th place team moving on to the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p>Automatic qualifiers (top 6):</p> <p><strong>Argentina</strong></p> <p><strong>Ecuador</strong></p> <p><strong>Colombia</strong></p> <p><strong>Uruguay</strong></p> <p><strong>Brazil</strong></p> <p><strong>Paraguay</strong></p> <p>Bolivia, as the 7th place team, has a spot in the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p><strong>CONCACAF (North &amp; Central America)</strong></p> <p>As host nations, the three powerhouses of this confederation are already in.</p> <p>Qualified automatically (host nations):</p> <p><strong>Canada</strong></p> <p><strong>Mexico</strong></p> <p><strong>USA</strong></p> <p>There are still three more automatic spots available and two places in the Intercontinental playoffs at stake as well.</p> <p>Round 3 currently involves 12 teams, split into three groups.</p> <p>Group A: Suriname, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala</p> <p>Group B: Jamaica, Curacao, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, Bermuda</p> <p>Group C: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras</p> <p>The final round of matches takes place in November.</p> <p>Teams in each group play each other twice with the winner of each group making the World Cup. The two group runners-up with the best records are still alive, heading to the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p><strong>UEFA</strong></p> <p>A combination of the easiest and the hardest qualifying to explain.</p> <p>54 European nations (not including Russia, still suspended) are split into 12 groups of 4 or 5 teams which will finish in November of 2025. All 12 group winners advance to the World Cup.</p> <p>England became the first UEFA team to qualify by winning Group K.</p> <p>Qualified automatically (group winners)</p> <p><strong>England</strong></p> <p>The rest of the group winners will be decided in the November window.</p> <p>After that, the final four places at the World Cup will be determined via the UEFA playoffs, to be played in March of 2026.</p> <p>There is no path to the World Cup through the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p>Here’s where it gets a little tricky if you’re not a European football expert.</p> <p>The UEFA playoff involves 16 teams: the 12 group runners-up plus the four best-ranked group winners from the UEFA Nations League (who did not finish in the top two in World Cup qualifying).</p> <p>This creates four routes, each with four teams featuring a semifinal and a final for a place at the World Cup.</p> <p>Got it?</p> <p><strong>OFC (Oceania)</strong></p> <p>Thanks to the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, Oceania received direct qualification for the first time in history.</p> <p>All 11 members – New Zealand and the Pacific Islands – started the qualification process in October of 2024.</p> <p>Qualified automatically (tournament winner):</p> <p><strong>New Zealand</strong></p> <p>New Zealand earned the automatic bid by beating New Caledonia in the final. New Caledonia, however, is still alive with a berth in the Intercontinental playoffs.</p> <p><strong>Intercontinental Playoffs</strong></p> <p>These will be held in March 2026 and will determine the final two qualifiers for the World Cup.</p> <p>6 nations will take part and only UEFA does not have a representative. Each of the five confederations will have one country in the playoffs, with the exception of CONCACAF (the host confederation) which has a second representative.</p> <p>The two nations with the best FIFA World Ranking will be seeded and go straight into one of the two finals.</p> <p>The four other countries will be drawn into semifinals, with the winners meeting the two seeded teams for the final World Cup places.</p> <p>The Intercontinental playoffs will be held in one of the World Cup host nations.</p> <p>1 AFC (Iraq or UAE)</p> <p>1 CAF (Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon or Nigeria)</p> <p>1 CONMEBOL (Bolivia)</p> <p>2 CONCACAF (TBD)</p> <p>1 OFC (New Caledonia)</p>