2026 World Cup: How all 48 teams qualified for the biggest tournament ever

Wondering how each of the 48 teams in the 2026 World Cup made it into the field? We have you covered.

>As the tournament expanded from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 this year, there were more opportunities for smaller nations to return to the competition for the first time in decades or make their first appearances. Here’s a look at how everyone booked their tickets to the largest World Cup ever.

Group AMexico

>As a co-host of the tournament, Mexico automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

>SouthKorea

>South Korea easily won Group B in the third round of the Asian qualifiers by six points over Jordan thanks to six wins and four draws in 10 games.

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>South Africa

>South Africa topped Group C of the African qualifiers by a point over Nigeria. Bafana Bafana won five and drew three of its 10 qualifying games.

>Czechia

>The Czechs needed to win two knockout-round games to get to the World Cup. After finishing in second place in its UEFA Nations League group, Czechia automatically advanced to the playoffs for the final UEFA spots. Czechia took down Ireland in penalty kicks in the semifinals before a 3-1 win over Denmark to make the World Cup.

Group BCanada

>As a co-host of the tournament, Canada automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

>Switzerland

>Switzerland won Group B in the European World Cup qualifiers in convincing fashion. The Swiss scored 14 points across six games with four wins and two draws.

>Qatar

>The 2022 hosts were automatically in four years ago and needed four rounds of Asian qualifying to get in this year. After finishing out of the automatic qualifying places in the third round, Qatar won Group A in the fourth round with a 0-0 tie against Oman and a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates.

>Bosnia and Herzegovina

>Like Czechia, Bosnia and Herzegovina needed to go through the UEFA playoffs as well. After a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in the semifinal round, Bosnia and Herzegovina stunned Italy with a 4-1 win in penalty kicks after the game was tied 1-1 following extra time.

Jonathan David and Canada are in Group B with Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina.Vaughn Ridley via Getty ImagesGroup CBrazil

>Brazil did not have the easiest run through the gauntlet that is South American qualifying. Officially, the Brazilians finished fifth among the 10 teams playing each other for World Cup spots. But the top six teams advanced and Brazil finished a point out of second and eight points ahead of Bolivia in seventh.

>Morocco

>The Moroccans made the semifinals in 2022 and cruised through African qualifying this time around. Morocco won Group E of the CAF qualifiers with eight wins at a plus-20 goal differential in eight games.

>Scotland

>Scotland lost just once in six games to win Group C of the UEFA qualifiers. The Scottish scored two more points than Denmark to win the group thanks to a 4-2 win over the Danes in one of their two games and a draw in the other.

>Haiti

>Yes, it helped that three CONCACAF nations were automatically qualified for the World Cup. But Haiti didn’t exactly sneak into the tournament. The Haitians won Group C with 11 points to beat Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Group DUnited States

>As a co-host of the tournament, the U.S. automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

>Australia

>The Socceroos finished second to Japan in Group C of the third round of the Asian qualifiers to earn an automatic spot in the World Cup. Australia scored 19 points and its only loss came to cellar-dwellers Bahrain in its opening game.

>Paraguay

>Paraguay finished tied with Brazil and two others and officially scored the last automatic berth through CONMEBOL qualifying. Paraguay lost just four times through 18 qualifiers, though it scored just 14 goals.

>Türkiye

>The Turks needed to go through the European qualifying knockout rounds to get to the World Cup too after a second-place finish in its qualifying group. Türkiye beat Romania 1-0 in the semifinals and then beat Kosovo 1-0 to make the World Cup.

Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream will lead USMNT in Group D against Australia, Paraguay and Türkiye.Robin Alam/ISI Photos via Getty ImagesGroup EGermany

>As it looks to bounce back from an early exit in the 2022 World Cup, Germany won five and drew one of its six UEFA qualifying games to win Group A by three points over Slovakia.

>Ecuador

>Do you like teams that refuse to give up goals? Ecuador is the team for you. Ecuador finished second in CONMEBOL qualifying by scoring 14 goals in 18 games. But it had a plus-9 goal differential after allowing five total goals. Four of those goals came in one game against Bolivia, too. Eight of its qualifiers ended at 0-0.

>Ivory Coast

>The Elephants ran roughshod over Group F in the African qualifiers along with Gabon. Ivory Coastscored 26 of a possible 30 points across 10 games but still only got the automatic qualifying spot by a single point thanks to a 1-0 win over Gabon. That was Gabon’s only group loss.

>Curaçao

>The smallest nation in the World Cup went undefeated in CONCACAF qualifying. Curaçao won three and drew three to score 12 points and beat Jamaica by a single point to win Group B.

Group FNetherlands

>The Dutch won Group G in the European qualifiers with 20 points in eight games. The Netherlands won six and drew two — the two ties came against second-place Poland.

>Japan

>Japan easily won Group C in the third round of the Asian qualifiers. The Japanese gave up just three goals in 10 games while scoring 30.

>Tunisia

>Tunisia had no issues winning Group H in the African qualifiers. Thanks to nine wins and a draw in 10 games, Tunisia scored nearly twice as many points as second-place Namibia and didn’t allow a single goal.

>Sweden

>Sweden has the Nations League to thank for getting to the World Cup. After finishing last in its qualifying group with just two points, Sweden advanced to the knockout-round playoffs thanks to its Nations League positioning. The Swedes then beat Ukraine 3-1 and Poland 3-2 to make the World Cup.

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Group GBelgium

>Like Germany, Belgium is also looking to forget a disastrous 2022 World Cup. The Belgians won Group J of the UEFA qualifiers by two points over Wales with five wins and three draws.

>Iran

>Iran won Group A in the third round of Asian qualifiers with 23 points off seven wins and two ties.

>Egypt

>Egypt won eight and drew two of its 10 qualifiers to win Group A of African qualifying by five points over Burkina Faso. The Egyptians allowed just two goals.

>New Zealand

>The Kiwis were the first team in Oceania history to earn a direct qualifying berth to the World Cup. New Zealand won Group B in the second round to advance to the four-team knockout round. There, it beat Fiji 7-0 and New Caledonia 3-0 to make the tournament.

Group HSpain

>Spain did not have much issue in its qualifying campaign. It won five and drew one of its six qualifiers to win UEFA Group E by three points over Türkiye.

>Uruguay

>The inaugural World Cup champs were one of four teams that tied with 28 points in the six CONMEBOL automatic qualifying spots.

>SaudiArabia

>The team that upset Argentina at the 2022 World Cup won Group B in the fourth round of Asian qualifying. Saudi Arabia had to go to the fourth round after finishing third behind Japan and Australia in the third round’s Group C.

>Cape Verde

>Cape Verde is making its first World Cup appearance after winning CAF’s Group D. Cape Verde won seven and lost just one of its 10 games to beat Cameroon to the group title and an automatic qualifying spot by four points.

Erling Haaland and Norway qualified for the World Cup with a dominant run in UEFA group play.Stuart Franklin via Getty ImagesGroup IFrance

>The 2022 runners-up won five and drew one of its six qualifying games in UEFA’s Group D to easily earn its World Cup place.

>Senegal

>Senegal went undefeated in CAF’s Group B while allowing only three goals. However, it still only won the group by two points over DR Congo.

>Norway

>Outside of England, Norwegians were the most dominant team in UEFA group play. Norway won Group I with eight wins in eight games and 37 goals scored and five goals allowed. That included 4-1 and 3-0 wins over second-place Italy and an 11-1 win — yes, really — over Moldova.

>Iraq

>Iraq was one of the six teams that advanced to the inter-confederation qualifying tournament for the final spots in the World Cup. After Bolivia beat Suriname, Iraq eliminated Bolivia 2-1 on March 31 to qualify.

Group JArgentina

>The defending World Cup champs were well ahead of that CONMEBOL qualifying logjam. Argentina won CONMEBOL qualifying by nine points over Ecuador and 10 points over the other four automatic qualifiers and scored a region-high 31 goals in 18 games.

>Austria

>The Austrians topped UEFA’s Group H with 22 goals and 19 points in eight games. Ten of those 22 came in a 10-0 win over San Marino, a team that allowed 39 goals in the group stage.

>Algeria

>Algeria won Africa’s Group G with ease by seven points over Uganda. The Algerians’ only qualifying loss came in a 2-1 defeat to Mozambique.

>Jordan

>Jordan got through to the World Cup after finishing second to South Korea in Group B of the third round of Asian qualifying. Jordan won just four of its 10 games, but beat Iraq by a point to avoid having to head to the fourth round of the qualifiers.

Cristiano Ronaldo is back in the lineup for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup.ASSOCIATED PRESSGroup KPortugal

>The heavy favorites in the group won UEFA’s group F with 13 points. Portugal’s only qualifying loss came in a 2-0 defeat to group runners-up Ireland.

>Colombia

>Yet another team that scored 28 points in CONMEBOL qualifying, Colombia’s 28 qualifying goals were only beaten by region winner Argentina.

>Uzbekistan

>The Uzbeks finished second in Asia’s Group A to Iran and were comfortably ahead of third place and a spot in the fourth round of qualifying. Uzbekistan lost just one of its 10 games and allowed a group-low seven goals.

>Congo DR

>Like Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo also advanced to the World Cup via the last-ditch inter-confederation qualifiers. After Jamaica beat New Caledonia 1-0, Congo DR beat Jamaica by the same scoreline with an extra-time goal.

Group LEngland

>England hardly broke a sweat in UEFA’s Group K. The Three Lions won all eight of their games, scored 22 goals and didn’t allow a single one.

>Croatia

>Croatia was the best team in UEFA Group L and beat Czechia by six points with seven wins and a 0-0 tie.

>Panama

>Panama was the only team to go undefeated in CONCACAF Group A. The Panamanians won three games and drew three to win the group with 12 points.

>Ghana

>Ghana is looking to get out of the group stage for the first time since making the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup. The Black Stars had a goal difference of +17 as they beat Madagascar by six points to win CAF Group I.