World Cup Qualification thread

[magik9113]

The World Cup is just around the corner. As the rest of the teams fight for qualification, please discuss here

Every country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as of the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 14:

Host nations: Canada, Mexico, United States
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Concacaf: None yet
Europe: England
Oceania: New Zealand
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay


Here is a complete breakdown of how FIFA divided all 48 berths at the 2026 World Cup:

Host nations (3): Canada, Mexico and the United States all qualified as soon as they were picked to host the tournament.
Asia (8): Eight Asian countries have qualified. The Asian Football Confederation will place one team in the intercontinental playoff, with Iraq and the United Arab Emirates facing off for that last-chance ticket in November.
Africa (9): African qualifying sorted 54 countries into nine groups of six (though Eritrea withdrew from Group E before play began). The nine group winners have qualified, while the four best runners-up — Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria — will convene for a dramatic playoff in Morocco in November. The winner of that event will enter the intercontinental playoff.
Concacaf (3): The region's third round — featuring three groups of four — began on Thursday, Sept. 4. Group winners qualify directly, while the two best runners-up will enter the intercontinental playoff.
Europe (16): UEFA qualifying features 54 teams broken up into 12 groups. Group winners qualify for the World Cup, while the second-place finishers (along with the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn't win their qualifying groups) will enter a playoff for Europe's final four berths that is set for March 2026.
Oceania (1): New Zealand has already claimed Oceania's only guaranteed berth at the 2026 World Cup, while New Caledonia is headed to the intercontinental playoff.
South America (6): CONMEBOL's marathon qualifying tournament has concluded, with six teams getting places at the World Cup. A seventh (Bolivia) claimed the region's spot in the intercontinental playoff.
Intercontinental playoff (2): New Caledonia and Bolivia have locked in spots in what will be a six-team tournament scheduled for March 2026.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2025/10/14/world-cup-2026-qualified-countries-teams-soccer/86691374007/

[magik9113]

At the moment, there are 10 teams (mostly hailing from Europe) that could claim a place at the 2026 World Cup with the right results in the coming days:

Austria: After missing out on six straight men's World Cups, Austria could clinch a berth next month. A win on Nov. 15 at Cyprus combined with Bosnia and Herzegovina failing to defeat Romania would mean party time in Vienna.
Croatia: The Faroe Islands' shock win over the Czech Republic on Sunday means that Croatia needs just one more point to win Group L and qualify for an eighth straight World Cup. The Croats host the Faroese on Nov. 14 in Rijeka.
France: "Les Bleus" nearly won UEFA's Group D after just four rounds of games, but will have to wait until November for a shot at finishing the job. France hosts second-place Ukraine in Paris on Nov. 13, and a win would guarantee the hosts a spot at the World Cup.
Honduras: "Los Catrachos" have a path to clinch in the next round of play in Concacaf's Group C. A win at Nicaragua on Nov. 13 combined with a draw between Haiti and Costa Rica in a game played earlier that same day would give Honduras entry into their fourth World Cup ever.
Jamaica: The "Reggae Boyz" 4-0 win over Bermuda put them in prime position in Concacaf's Group B. A win on Nov. 13 at Trinidad and Tobago, combined with a Curaçao loss at Bermuda, would be enough for Jamaica to clinch their spot.
Netherlands: The Dutch control their own destiny in UEFA's Group G. A win on Nov. 14 at Poland would clinch a place at next summer's tournament for the "Oranje."
Norway: The Norwegians have been a surprise in Group I, with Erling Haaland and Co. close to mathematical certainty of a World Cup spot. If Norway's result against Estonia on Nov. 13 is superior to what Italy can do against Moldova, the job will be done.
Portugal: Dominik Szoboszlai's stoppage-time equalizer for Hungary left Portugal frustrated, but they're still highly likely to qualify. A road win on Nov. 13 over the Republic of Ireland would clinch their berth, as would Hungary failing to defeat Armenia earlier that same day.
Spain: Nov. 15 could be the day for Spain, who need a win at Georgia plus a little help. If they can make it five wins from five games while Bulgaria avoids defeat against Turkey, "La Roja" will clinch the top spot in Group E.
Switzerland: The Swiss will head into the November window with a chance at clinching in UEFA's Group B. All they need to do is pick up a better result than Kosovo on Nov. 15. A Swiss win plus Kosovo draw, or Swiss draw and Kosovo loss, will settle the issue.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2025/10/14/world-cup-2026-qualified-countries-teams-soccer/86691374007/

[Foye]

Lets become Cape Verde Ultras for the tourney.

[El Turco]

Turkey destroyed everyone in the group except for the final boss of football.

UEFA should have gotten more spots instead of 6 from concacaf or auto qualifier for new zealand.

[El Turco]

Lets become Cape Verde Ultras for the tourney.

They might not even be the smallest team in the world cup.

[magik9113]

speaking of small teams, win-less in qualifiers, San Marino still has a shot at the play offs:

Twelve European spots are decided by the winners of the 12 qualifying groups, while four nations will qualify through UEFA’s 16-team play-offs, to be played in March 2026. These play-offs will involve 16 teams, who will be split into four paths of four, with each path containing two semi-finals and a final to determine the four extra nations which qualify for the World Cup.

Those 16 teams will comprise 12 group-stage runners-up plus the four best-ranked group winners from the Nations League who did not finish in the top two of their groups in World Cup qualifying.

These were the 14 Nations League group winners for 2024-25, based on ranking priority: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, England, Norway, Wales, Czechia, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova and San Marino.

As things stand, only Wales, Romania, Sweden, Moldova and San Marino of those nations are not in the top two of their respective World Cup qualification groups, meaning that San Marino — as the lowest-ranked of those five sides — would be the one nation to miss out on a play-off spot.

However, there is an important caveat: Romania are in San Marino’s qualification group, and are currently third, behind second-placed Bosnia & Herzegovina and first-placed Austria. Romania play away to Bosnia on November 15, before hosting San Marino on the final matchday, and whether Romania beats Bosnia to a top-two finish — with Austria looking likely to keep first place — is likely to be decided by goal difference.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6712890/2025/10/13/san-marino-world-cup-qualification-how/

So, if Romania beat Bosnia, San Marino have every incentive to lose to Romania by a ton of goals... and therefore qualify for the playoff...
JOKE

[MaliBrah]

Lets become Cape Verde Ultras for the tourney.

just for the sake for seeing their women I hope they play in Toronto

[AK47MVP]

I think Norway already qualified as well?

[magik9113]

I think Norway already qualified as well?

basically, but if Italy beat them and Moldova both by 15+, then that changes