So far, 28 teams from different continents have officially qualified, following the results of the decisive qualifiers in recent months, leaving 20 seats to be distributed among the continental federations according to a new system that takes into account broader representation.
After England secured the first qualifying spot from the UEFA European Championship qualifiers, more teams are expected to join the "Three Lions" next November.
France will secure their place at the World Cup on November 13 if:
French national team star Kylian Mbappe
Switzerland will qualify on November 15 if:
- They won against Sweden, and Kosovo failed to win against Slovenia.
- Or if they draw with Sweden, and Kosovo loses to Slovenia.
Belgium will secure its place on the same date if:
- They won against Kazakhstan.
The Netherlands will secure qualification on November 14 if:
- It won against Poland.
Austria will qualify on November 15 if:
They won against Cyprus, but Bosnia and Herzegovina did not win against Romania.
Portugal will secure qualification on November 13 if:
- Or if they draw with Estonia, and Italy loses to Moldova.
Spain will secure qualification on November 15 if:
Türkiye won against Georgia, but failed to win against Hungary.
North and Central America and the Caribbean: The conflict remains open
After both Honduras and Jamaica failed to win their opening matches in the October qualifiers, the CONCACAF region is now looking to November to determine the first qualifiers.
Honduras will qualify on November 13 if:
- They won against Nicaragua, and Costa Rica drew with Haiti.
Jamaica will secure its place on the same date if:
- It won against Trinidad and Tobago, and Curaçao lost to Bermuda.
Africa: Four teams vying for a playoff spot
In the African qualifiers, the Moroccan national team took center stage, while the national teams of Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast and South Africa also secured their qualification.
With the completion of the first stage of the African qualifiers, the four best second-placed teams in their groups are scheduled to compete in the African play-off for a single qualifying spot in the global play-off for the 2026 World Cup.
These four teams are Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Asia: The annex is the only remaining route
After the last direct qualification spots in the Asian Football Confederation were decided by the qualification of the Qatari and Saudi Arabian national teams on October 14, the Iraqi and Emirati national teams are preparing to play two matches in a home-and-away format, in order to snatch the last Asian spot that qualifies for the global play-off for the 2026 World Cup.
Despite losing to New Zealand in the Oceania qualifying final, New Caledonia still has a chance to qualify, as it will participate in the global play-off for the 2026 World Cup.
With the six direct qualifying spots in the South American Football Confederation now decided, Bolivia is looking to become the seventh team to qualify, when it competes in the intercontinental play-
off for the 2026 World Cup alongside New Caledonia and four other teams.
