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There are still two years to go until the American World Cup: FIFA has chosen Mexico, the USA, and Canada as the host countries for this edition of the World Cup. The opening match will take place on June 11 at the legendary Azteca Stadium in Mexico. The following day, games will be played at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The final is scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York.
However, before dreaming of the debut at the Azteca and the final in New York, teams must qualify. The qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup have already begun for some federations. Below is an overview of the various qualification processes, which will determine the remaining 45 teams that will participate in the tournament.
AFC, Asia: All 46 affiliated teams, except for the Northern Mariana Islands, will participate in the qualifiers. The first phase took place between July and October 2023, followed by a second phase where teams were divided into nine groups of four. The top two teams from each group will advance to the third phase, which will consist of three groups of six teams each. The top two teams from each group will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams will move on to the fourth phase.
CAF, Africa: The African qualifiers involve 54 teams, divided into nine groups of six teams each. The winner of each group will directly qualify for the World Cup, while the four best second-placed teams will compete in a playoff to determine which team will advance to the intercontinental playoffs. The first matches were played on November 13, 2023, and the entire qualification process will conclude on November 18, 2025.
CONCACAF, North America: In addition to the host nations, which automatically qualify for the World Cup, 32 national teams will participate in the qualifiers. The first matches took place in March 2024, and the final round of qualification will take place in mid-November 2025. In the first phase, the teams with the lowest rankings (29th to 32nd place) will compete. In the second phase, 30 teams will participate: the two winners from the first phase and the teams ranked 1st to 28th. Finally, the third phase will feature the 12 teams that qualified from the second phase, divided into three groups of four teams each.
CONMEBOL, South America: The South American qualifiers will follow the traditional format, with the 10 teams affiliated with CONMEBOL competing in a single round-robin group with home and away matches. The top six teams will qualify for the World Cup, while the seventh-placed team will enter the intercontinental playoffs. The qualifiers will take place between September 2023 and September 2025.
OFC, Oceania: With the expansion to 48 teams, one team from Oceania will have a guaranteed spot in the next World Cup. The four lowest-ranked teams will play a series of knockout matches in September 2024 in the first of three qualifying rounds. The winning team will join the seven highest-ranked teams in two groups of four in the second round. The top two teams from each group will play a knockout round in March 2025, with the winner qualifying for the World Cup and the runner-up entering the intercontinental playoffs.
UEFA, Europe: The new format for European national team qualifications was announced in early 2023. Russia's participation is still uncertain. The preliminary stages will be reduced to groups of four or five teams (compared to the current five or six), aiming to make the competition less predictable and more dynamic. The 55 national teams will be divided into 12 groups. The group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams and the four highest-ranked teams in the Nations League will participate in the playoffs.
Finally, Italy will learn its group-stage opponents at the end of 2024, when the draw is scheduled. The matches are set to begin in March 2025. The Italian national team, currently led by Spalletti, has not qualified for the World Cup since 2017, when they were eliminated by Sweden. If Italy qualifies for the 2026 World Cup, it will be their first appearance in twelve years since their last match against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
