World Cup confirmed for 42 countries

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will be held on December 5. However, the 48 teams of the upcoming mega tournament have not yet been finalized. Since the World Cup qualifiers, 42 countries have confirmed their tickets for the tournament to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. On Wednesday, 8 new countries added their names to the list. The remaining 6 countries will join them through play-offs.

The 2010 champion Spain started the qualifying mission a little late. As a result, their wait to confirm their World Cup ticket was a little longer. On Wednesday, they drew 2-2 with Turkey and went straight to the World Cup from the top of Group E in the European qualifiers. Through this, the Spanish continued their journey of being unbeaten in 31 consecutive matches that they started with a match against Italy in the 2023 Nations League semi-finals. Earlier, Italy had a record of being unbeaten in 31 matches from 2018 to 2021.

In addition, Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland and Austria have reached the finals from Europe. In the previous two days of qualifying, Norway, the Netherlands and Germany secured their places in the 2026 World Cup. In total, 12 teams have filled the slots from the European qualifiers. Belgium retained the top spot in Group ‘J’ after beating Liechtenstein 7-0 yesterday. In addition, Switzerland secured Group ‘B’ after a 1-1 draw with Kosovo, Scotland secured Group ‘C’ after beating Denmark 4-2, and Austria secured Group ‘H’ after a 1-1 draw with Bosnia.

Four more teams from Europe will have to play play-offs to qualify for the main stage of the World Cup.

The winners of the 12 groups have made it directly to the World Cup. The runners-up of those groups will play the play-offs with the 12 teams along with the four best group winners of the 2024–25 Nations League (who did not finish first or second in their groups in the qualifying round). The play-offs will be held on March 26 and 31.

Meanwhile, the United States, Mexico and Canada, as hosts of the North and Central America and Caribbean region, did not need to participate in the qualifying round. Panama, Haiti and Curaçao have also been added to the main round of the World Cup from the qualifiers in that region. After a goalless draw with Jamaica, Curaçao entered the world football stage as the smallest country in the world. The country with an area of ​​444 square kilometers has a population of 156,000.

The 42 countries that have confirmed their places in the World Cup so far are - CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) - Canada (welcome), Mexico (welcome) and the United States (welcome), Panama, Haiti and Curaçao. CONMEBOL (South America) - Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. AFC (Asia) - Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. CAF (Africa) - Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal - OFC (Oceania) - New Zealand. UEFA (Europe) - England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, Belgium and Austria.