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Nieuws
- 4 hours ago
When is the World Cup draw and what teams have qualified so far?
Martin Macdonald
- 19 Nov 2025 08:01 CST
- 9 min read
Nieuws
The 2026 World Cup will take place across the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.
It will be the biggest edition of the tournament in its history, with 48 teams set to compete for football's biggest prize - 16 more than the previous World Cup.
42 of those teams have been confirmed after the last round of qualifying matches.
The remaining six slots will be decided via the World Cup playoffs that will take place in March. Four more European nations will qualify as well as two from the Concacaf region.
Which European nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland have all qualified from the UEFA region.
There was incredible drama on the last day of qualifying as five nations booked their place on the final game of qualification.
The most exciting affair undoubtedly came at Hampden Park. Scotland had to defeat Denmark at home in order to leapfrog them into first place and secure automatic qualification for the World Cup for the first time since France '98. The Scots took the lead through a miraculous overhead kick from Scott McTominay but they were pegged back twice in the game as we approached full-time at a 2-2 deadlock.
Celtic star Kieran Tierney then popped up with a beautiful, curled strike into the corner from the edge of the area to make it 3-2. With the referee going way over the allocated added injury time, tensions were high in the stands, but the Scots erupted into celebrations when Kenny McLean audaciously scored from the halfway line to make it 4-2.
In Group H, meanwhile, Austria relied on a late Michael Gregoritsch goal to draw 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina to qualify for their first World Cup since France '98 also.
Belgium, Spain and Switzerland also all topped their respective groups at the end of qualifying.
The most impressive team in overall qualifying were undoubtedly England, who progressed with a perfect record of eight wins from eight. Not only did they win every game, but they didn't concede a single goal.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland North Macedonia will compete in the European World Cup playoffs in March.
Which CONCACAF nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
From CONCACAF, the United States, Mexico and Canada already qualified as hosts.
This week, Panama, Curacao and Haiti qualified.
Curacao drew with Jamaica on Tuesday to secure qualification to subsequently become the smallest nation in history ever to reach the World Cup. It has a population of around 150,000 and a land area of 171 square miles.
Which CAF nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Senegal and Ivory Coast all qualified as group winners over September and October.
As CAF playoff winners, DR Congo will join Bolivia, New Caledonia, Iraq, Jamaica and Suriname in the inter-confederation playoffs.
Which CONMEBOL nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying ended in September, with Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay all booking their place at the 2026 tournament via finishing in the top six of the South American standings.
Argentina were fairly emphatic as they won 12 of their 18 matches but Brazil were less convincing as they progressed with a record of eight wins, four draws and six losses.
Bolivia will pay in the intercontinental playoffs.
Which AFC nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
Eight nations from Asia have qualified for the World Cup. Iraq beat the United Arab Emirates in a regional playoff in November to get the chance to feature in the intercontinental playoffs in March.
Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Australia have all secured qualification for the World Cup from the AFC after finishing inside the top two places of their respective groups.
Which OFC nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
New Zealand beat New Caledonia 3-0 in the OFC’s World Cup qualifying final to secure the confederation’s only direct spot at the tournament.
When is the World Cup draw?
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on Friday, 5 December at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, at 17:00 GMT.
The 48 participating teams will be placed into four pots of 12 based on Fifa rankings.
Rankings will be subject to change depending on which nations qualify via the playoffs, though the playoff teams will likely be put in pot four.
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