2026 World Ranking: Secured Teams and Upcoming Challenges

The Race to the 2026 World Cup Begins: Asia and Africa Define Their First Qualifiers

The qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off on October 12, 2023, with the first matches of the Asian nations. In the opening match, Lwin Moe Aung of Myanmar scored the first goal, in a match that ended 5-1 against Macau. Although the qualifiers are underway in all confederations, it is still necessary to know the 45 countries that will join the United States, Mexico and Canada, the hosts, to complete the 48 participating teams. Japan was the first nation to secure its place in the tournament, on March 20.

• Classified (15/45): Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Argentina, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Morocco, Tunisia.

What’s Defined This Week?

South America: The qualifying phase ends. On Thursday, the last three direct qualifiers were defined: Uruguay, Colombia, and Paraguay. On Tuesday, it will be decided which nation will participate in the inter-confederation play-offs.Europe and Concacaf: The qualification, which ends in November, is still in an early stage and no country has secured its place.Africa: There are still three matchdays left in the main group stage, with Morocco and Tunisia already qualified this week.Asia: The first six countries have secured their place, and the next round will begin in October.Oceania: The process is complete, with New Zealand qualified and New Caledonia in the play-offs.

Africa (CAF)

9 direct berths + 1 in play-off The group stage began in November 2023 and will conclude with matchdays in September and October.

This Week’s Highlights

Group E: Morocco (21 points) became the first African country to qualify, after defeating Niger (9) by 5-0. Tanzania (10) drew 1-1 against Congo, who earned their first point. Tanzania is one point ahead of Niger in the fight for second place, but Niger has two matches to play.

Group H: Tunisia (22) sealed their qualification on Monday, thanks to a goal in the 94th minute that gave them a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea (10). Now the fight for second place is open, with Namibia (15) needing a victory in their difficult matches against Liberia (11) and Tunisia. Malawi (10) and Equatorial Guinea still have chances if Namibia does not achieve good results.

Tunisia celebrates its World Cup qualification.

Group A: Egypt (20) had the opportunity to qualify on Tuesday, but drew 0-0 against Burkina Faso (15). A win against Djibouti (1) will likely secure Egypt’s place. Burkina Faso is under pressure for second place from Sierra Leone (12). Guinea-Bissau could still stay in contention if they beat Ethiopia (6) and Burkina Faso loses against Sierra Leone.

Group B: Senegal (18) achieved a 3-2 victory in DR Congo (16). Senegal depends on itself, with favorable matches next month against South Sudan (3) and Mauritania (5). DR Congo must travel to Togo (7) and receive Sudan (12) and hope that Senegal stumbles. Sudan must beat DR Congo to have a chance of finishing second.

Group C: South Africa (17) is in a strong position after drawing 1-1 against Nigeria (11) on Tuesday. However, South Africa still doesn’t know the sanction for fielding an ineligible player in the 2-0 victory over Lesotho in March, which could result in a 3-0 defeat. Benin (11) plays against Lesotho (6) later.

Group D: Cape Verde (19) is on the verge of achieving its first qualification after defeating Cameroon (15) 1-0 on Tuesday. Cape Verde needs a win to secure its place, with matches against Libya (14) and Eswatini (2). Cameroon is under pressure for second place from Libya.

Group F: Ivory Coast (19) has a slight advantage over Gabon (18).

Group G: Algeria (19) could only draw against Guinea (11), and after the victories of Mozambique (15) and Uganda (15), the group could still have excitement. Next month, Algeria and Uganda face each other. Algeria will seal qualification if they win against Somalia (1), who has lost six of their seven matches.

Group I: Ghana (19) is in a good position after defeating Mali on Monday, but there’s still a lot of football to be played. Madagascar (16) is three points behind, with Comoros (15) also in contention for first place. In October, Madagascar and Comoros face each other in the ninth matchday, followed by Comoros against Ghana. First place could be secured on the ninth matchday if Ghana wins in the Central African Republic (5) and Madagascar draws or loses against Comoros.

Round 2: The four best second-placed teams will participate in the play-offs (two semi-finals and one final) to decide which country will go to the inter-confederation play-offs. This phase will be played in November 2025.

South America (CONMEBOL)

6 direct spots + 1 in play-off The top six finishers qualify directly for the final phase. The seventh-place finisher will go to the inter-confederation play-offs in March 2026.

Miguel Almirón celebrates after Paraguay secured their place in the final after a 16-year wait.On Tuesday, the last three direct spots were decided when Venezuela lost 3-0 against Argentina. Uruguay, Colombia, and Paraguay secured a place in the top six. They join Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador, who were already qualified. The only thing left to define is the inter-confederation play-off spot, and it’s a race between two teams. Venezuela occupies seventh place, one point ahead of Bolivia. Venezuela can secure the spot with a victory against Colombia. They will also be safe if Bolivia does not win. It’s difficult for Bolivia, which has a much inferior goal difference, so it must win at home against Brazil at altitude and hope that Venezuela draws or loses.

Europe (UEFA)

12 direct spots + 4 via play-off The classification began on March 21, when most European teams played their first matches. There are 55 European nations, although 54 will compete, as Russia remains suspended. There are 12 groups of four or five teams, playing home and away matches. The group stage continues with double matchdays in September and October, and is completed in November. The 12 group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, and the 12 runners-up will enter the play-off system. It’s still a while until we know the first qualifiers.

PLAY-OFFS

The last four spots for the World Cup will be determined through the UEFA play-offs, which will be played in March 2026. There is no path to the World Cup through the FIFA inter-confederation play-offs. The UEFA play-offs involve 16 teams: the 12 runners-up plus the four best group winners from the UEFA Nations League, who did not finish in the top two in the World Cup qualifying. This creates four paths, each with four teams featuring a single-match semi-final and a final for a place in the World Cup. The order of priority for the four World Cup play-off spots through the UEFA Nations League is: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, England, Norway, Wales, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova, San Marino.

Of the 14 teams that won their UEFA Nations League groups, 10 of them were in Pot 1 or 2 for the World Cup qualifying draw, so they would finish in the top two of their group in the classification. If that happens, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova and San Marino would get a play-off spot.

Classification:

• Pot 1: Runners-up from the World Cup qualifying groups with the four best results.
• Pot 2: As above, teams from fifth to eighth.
• Pot 3: As above, teams from ninth to twelfth.
• Pot 4: UEFA Nations League teams.

Semi-finals:

• Pot 1 vs. Pot 4
• Pot 2 vs. Pot 3

The World Cup trophy on display in New York during the official trophy tour of the host cities.

North America, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf)

3 direct spots + 2 in play-off Concacaf will have six automatic spots in the qualification, but for the 2026 finals three of the six are occupied by the hosts. That leaves three spots to win, plus two spots in the inter-confederation play-offs route. Concacaf saw 32 nations enter the race to reach the final.

Round 1: The four lowest-ranked Concacaf nations faced off in two-legged qualifiers. Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands eliminated the Turks and Caicos Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, both on penalties.

Round 2: The 28 highest-ranked nations, plus the two winners of Round 1, were drawn into six groups of five teams. The teams faced each other only once, instead of home and away. This phase was played in two blocks, in June 2024 and June 2025.

The six group winners and the six group runners-up advanced to Round 3.Advanced: Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curaçao, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

Round 3: The remaining 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams. This phase will be played in September, October, and November. The group winners will qualify for the World Cup, and the two runners-up with the best record will participate in the inter-confederation play-offs.

Group A: Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Suriname

Group B: Jamaica, Curaçao, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda

Group C: Costa Rica, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua

What can be decided this week?

The third round started on Thursday, so there’s still a long way to go.

Asia (AFC)

8 direct spots + 1 in play-off

The Socceroos qualified for the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.This is, by far, the most complicated route to the World Cup, with a layered qualifying process featuring a double group stage to find the eight direct qualifiers. But the main part will be done and dusted in June.

Round 1: The 20 lowest-ranked nations played two-legged qualifiers in October 2023. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, and Yemen advanced.

Round 2: Those 10 winners joined the 26 best-ranked nations. The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four teams, and the two best nations advanced to Round 3. This phase began in November 2023 and was completed in June 2024.

Advanced: Australia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan

Round 3: Now there are 18 nations, drawn into three groups of six teams. The matches began in September 2024 and the round was completed on Tuesday.

The group winners and runners-up occupied the top six places in the 2026 World Cup and their campaign has ended. Japan became the first team to qualify for the World Cup on March 20, followed by Iran, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Australia.

Round 4: The six teams in this phase were drawn into two groups of three. They will play each other once, so two matches, in a host country in October.

Group A: Qatar (host), United Arab Emirates, Oman

Group B: Saudi Arabia (host), Iraq, Indonesia

Group winners occupy the last two automatic places in the World Cup. The runners-up continue in Round 5.

Round 5: A two-legged tie in November 2025 to win a place in the inter-confederation play-offs.

Oceania (OFC)

1 direct spot + 1 in play-off The 11 members of the OFC region participated.

Round 1: The four lowest-ranked nations played in a knockout format (two semi-finals and a final) in Samoa in September 2024. Samoa beat Tonga 2-1 in the final to advance.

Round 2: Samoa and the seven highest-ranked nations were drawn into two groups of four nations, with matches played in October and November 2024. The matches were played in Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. New Caledonia, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Fiji advanced to Round 3.

Round 3: The four remaining countries played in a single-elimination format (two semi-finals and a final) in New Zealand in March 2025. New Zealand qualified for the World Cup, with New Caledonia advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Inter-confederation play-offs (2 spots)

The play-offs, which will be held in March 2026, will determine the last two qualifiers. Six countries will participate. Each of the five confederations (apart from UEFA) will provide a country. The host confederation (for this edition, Concacaf) receives a second place.

• 1 Africa
• 1 Asia
• 2 Concacaf
• 1 Oceania (New Caledonia)
• 1 South America

The two highest-ranked nations in the FIFA world ranking will be seeded and will advance directly to one of the two finals. The other four countries will be drawn to play a semi-final, which will lead to a seed for one of the two places in the World Cup. The play-offs will be held in one of the host nations of the World Cup as a test event.