Thirty-three nations across six continents have officially booked their spots at the 48-team 2026 FIFA World Cup, the latest qualification figures showed after Thursday’s matches.
Africa has nine teams already through, having completed their qualification phase, while two additional nations, including Nigeria and DR Congo, are currently contesting the continental playoffs for a chance to advance to the intercontinental round.
List of teams that already qualified for the 48-team 2026 World Cup as of Thursday:
Host nations
Canada, Mexico, United States
Africa
Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Asia
Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Europe
England, France
Oceania
New Zealand
South America
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
The Leopards of DR Congo will play against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the final of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers Africa playoffs in Morocco on Sunday.
Their meeting was set up after Thursday’s matches, where DR Congo beat Cameroon 1-0 in the second semi-final at the Stade El Barid, and the Super Eagles beat Gabon 4-1 after extra time at the Moulay Hassan Stadium, both in Rabat, Morocco.
The winners of the continental play-off final will progress to a six-team intercontinental qualifier, which will be held in Mexico by March 2026 and will determine the final two nations at next year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
AFP
