World Cup 2026: Which teams have qualified for next year's tournament in North America?

Following the official draw for World Cup 2026, anticipation is fast-growing for next summer's controversial 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Including the three North American host nations, 42 countries have already punched their ticket to the next quadrennial global gathering, including seasoned champions, perpetual also-rans and tournament debutants.

Several spots are still up for grabs heading into the New Year, and some qualification fates will not be decided until the early stages of 2026, but a plethora of nations are already making plans for their stateside sojourns.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at every team to have qualified for the World Cup and how they got there.

World Cup 2026 qualified teams: Hosts

United States

Familiar faces at the World Cup during the late 20th and early 21st century, the United States are aiming to make the knockout rounds for the fourth time in a row, having reached the last 16 in 2022, 2014 and 2010.

Mexico

Mexico's run of seven straight last-16 appearances ended with their group-stage elimination in Qatar, but El Tri now have the chance to atone for their mishaps in Qatar and enter the World Cup as Gold Cup champions.

Canada

The third time could be the charm for Canada, who also competed at the 1986 and 2022 editions but failed to win a single game in either of them.

World Cup 2026 qualified teams: UEFA

Germany

Recovering from a shock opening loss to Slovakia, Germany embarked on five straight wins in UEFA Group A to top the section, rounding off their preliminary period with a 6-0 battering of their former conquerors.

Switzerland

Switzerland have qualified for a sixth consecutive World Cup after topping Group B and enjoying an unbeaten qualification campaign, winning four and drawing two of their six group matches to finish three points clear of their nearest challengers Kosovo.

Scotland

Two dramatic stoppage-time goals helped Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 in a pivotal final match to finish first in Group C with 13 points and qualify automatically for their first World Cup since 1998.

France

Winners in 2018, runners-up in 2022, France have some Mundial wrongs to right at the 2026 edition, which they sealed their qualification for with a 4-0 battering of Ukraine in November 2025, winning Group D with 16 points from six games (W5 D1)

Spain

Despite drawing 2-2 with Turkey on matchday six and missing the opportunity to record a perfect qualification campaign, 2010 World Cup winners Spain secured top spot in Group E with 16 points, scoring 21 goals and conceding just twice in the process, to punch their ticket to next summer's tournament.

Portugal

A penny for Cristiano Ronaldo's thoughts on November 16, as the suspended skipper watched his Portugal side slaughter Armenia 9-1 without him to confirm a first-placed finish in Group F over the Republic of Ireland, whom they had lost to a few days before.

Netherlands

Only the shock loss of all shock losses at home to Lithuania could have prevented the Netherlands from finishing first in Group G, and the Dutch eased past their unfancied foes 4-0 on the final day to reach the World Cup unbeaten.

Austria

Austria have secured automatic qualification for their first World Cup in almost three decades after finishing top of Group H with 19 points, drawing 1-1 with second-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina in their final fixture to secure their place at the summit.

Norway

Swatting aside the competition in Group I, an Erling Haaland-inspired Norway astonishingly won all eight games to comfortably top the section ahead of Italy and make their first World Cup finals in the 21st century.

Belgium

Belgium required a thumping 7-0 home victory over Liechtenstein in their final match to preserve their unbeaten record in qualifying and seal top spot in Group J, with 18 points accumulated across eight games (W5 D3) to finish just above Wales in second place.

England

The first European nation to seal their place at next year's World Cup, England guaranteed a first-placed finish in UEFA Group K with six wins from their first six games against Albania, Andorra, Serbia and Latvia, thumping the latter 5-0 in October to seal top spot.

Croatia

Runners-up in 2018 and semi-finalists at the 2022 edition, Croatia will grace the World Cup with their welcome presence after winning UEFA Group L, and the competition will almost certainly see Luka Modric strut his stuff on the international stage one last time.

World Cup 2026 qualified teams: CONMEBOL

Argentina

The phrase 'last dance' may be overused in professional sport, but the 2026 tournament is undoubtedly a last dance for Lionel Messi on the World Cup stage - the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner scored an unrivalled eight goals as Argentina topped the CONMEBOL qualification process with 38 points from 18 games.

Ecuador

Unexpectedly nabbing second spot in the South American section, Ecuador finished nine points behind runaway winners Argentina, and it would have been six had they not been deducted three points for using false birth documents for defender Byron Castillo.

Colombia

One of four South American sides to finish on 28 points, Colombia's exceptional goals scored total of 28 - seven of which came from Luis Diaz - saw the 2014 quarter-finalists claim a podium spot and atone for their failure to qualify for Qatar 2022.

Uruguay

Under the wing of the wily Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay finished the CONMEBOL process with an identical record to Colombia - seven wins, seven draws and four losses - to make the World Cup for the fifth cycle running.

Brazil

None of the top six sides in the CONMEBOL standings lost more games than Brazil's six, but the five-time winners nevertheless qualified in fifth place and will be overseen by serial silverware winner Carlo Ancelotti in North America.

Paraguay

Nabbing the sixth and final qualification spot in South America, Paraguay lost just four of their 18 games en route to claiming 28 points and will compete in the World Cup for the first time since making the last eight of the 2010 edition.

World Cup 2026 qualified teams: CAF

Egypt

With nine-goal star Mohamed Salah in tow, Egypt did not lose a single Group A game against Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia or Djibouti en route to top spot, and the Liverpool legend also became the highest CAF World Cup Qualifying scorer in the process.

Senegal

Salah vs. Sadio Mane could materialise in North America after the latter's Senegal side finished first in Group B, where they also navigated their section unbeaten but only finished two points better off than second-placed DR Congo.

South Africa

Bring back the vuvuzelas - South Africa are back on the global stage for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010, having upset the odds in Group C to pip Nigeria to top spot by one point.

However, that margin would have been four points had the Bafana Bafana not fielded an ineligible player in their 2-0 win over Lesotho, which was subsequently awarded as a 3-0 loss.

Cape Verde

One of the stories of the entire qualification process - not just in Africa - Cape Verde claimed 23 points from 30 in Group D to make the World Cup Finals for the first time ever, and become the smallest nation by land mass to reach the competition.

Morocco

Still riding high on the back of their historic run to the semi-finals in 2022, Morocco went through Group E without dropping a single point, making them the only African side to qualify with a 100% winning record.

Ivory Coast

Showing exactly why they are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions, Ivory Coast did not concede a single goal in their 10 Group F games, and good thing too - they only finished one point clear of second-placed Gabon.

Algeria

Paired together with Guinea, Botswana, Somalia, Uganda and Mozambique, Algeria were the overwhelming favourites to sweep aside the competition in Group G, and so they did with 25 points on the board.

Tunisia

No African nation claimed more than Tunisia's unparalleled 28 points in CAF Qualifying, as the Eagles of Carthage won a marvellous nine of their 10 Group H fixtures and also kept a clean sheet in every single game.

Ghana

After failing to make a single World Cup before the 2006 edition, Ghana will now play at the Finals for a fifth time in the last six cycles, having amassed 25 points from 10 Group I games to end up six clear of second-placed Madagascar.

World Cup 2026 qualified teams: AFC

Iran

Frequent group-stage participants at the World Cup, Iran will now bid to finally make the knockout rounds at the seventh time of asking after finishing top of AFC Third Round Group A with 23 points on the board.

Uzbekistan

Pipping the United Arab Emirates and 2022 hosts Qatar to second place in Group A, Uzbekistan's total of 21 points was more than enough to see them through to the Finals for the first time in their history.

South Korea

There was little doubt whatsoever about South Korea's spot in North America, and the Tigers of Asia navigated their Third Round Group B path unbeaten with six wins and four draws from 10 games to comfortably top the section.

Jordan

Also appearing at a World Cup tournament for the first time ever, Jordan edged out Iraq by one point in Group B, despite losing 1-0 to the third-placed outfit during the final round of fixtures.

Japan

The most potent attacking unit in the third round of AFC Qualifying, Japan notched an average of three goals per game en route to top spot in Group C, scoring a staggering 30 in their 10 games as they finished four points clear of the team below.

Australia

Settling for second place in Group C, Australia were shocked 1-0 by Bahrain at home in their opening third-round match, but the Socceroos went unbeaten in their next nine games to seal their spot at WC 2026 without too much fuss.

Qatar

The third and fourth-placed teams in the AFC third-round groups all advanced to a fourth round, where the six nations were divided up into two teams of three - Qatar against UAE and Oman.

Thanks to a 2-1 win against the former and a 0-0 draw with the latter, the Maroons qualified for a World Cup on merit for the first time.

Saudi Arabia

The second AFC fourth-round group pitted Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia against each other - the former two both finished on four points and a +1 goal difference, but Saudi Arabia's superior goals scored total of three compared to Iraq's two saw them top the section.

World Cup 2026 qualified teams: OFC

New Zealand

A qualification section made up of just 11 nations, the OFC cycle unsurprisingly ended with New Zealand qualifying directly - the All Whites won all three games in second-round Group B, thumped Fiji 7-0 in the third-round semi-final and strolled past New Caledonia 3-0 in the final.

World Cup 2026 Qualified teams: CONCACAF

Panama

Returning to the global stage eight years after their debut in the 2018 tournament, Panama navigated CONCACAF Group A unbeaten to make the 2026 finals, earning three wins and three draws against Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Curacao

Not only are tiny Curacao World Cup debutants, they are the smallest-ever nation to grace the tournament with their presence.

Boasting just 171 square metres of land and a population of just over 150,000, Dick Advocaat's men incredibly pipped Jamaica to top spot in Group B during CONCACAF Qualifying.

Haiti

Not since 1974 had Haiti reached sport's grandest stage, but the Grenadiers will make the short trip to North America next summer after beating Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua to first place in Group C.