England became the first European team to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday. A total of 28 teams have now qualified, including World Cup debutants Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan. There remain 20 spots still to be claimed, with the majority of those coming from Europe. Portugal came within minutes of joining England in qualifying on Tuesday night, but a last-minute equaliser by Hungary means they will have to wait a little longer. Croatia are all but there, sitting three points above the Czech Republic with a far superior goal difference. Joint-hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States were all granted automatic qualification for the World Cup. Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan have already qualified from Asia. Oceania's one direct qualification spot has been taken by New Zealand. Tunisia and Morocco were the first two African sides to go through, and they have now been joined by Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and South Africa - who will play in their first World Cup since 2010. Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia are the South American nations currently guaranteed a place. Uzbekistan and Jordan will also be playing at a World Cup finals for the first time. While they have not qualified for the tournament in full, Bolivia and New Caledonia are two of the six nations confirmed to take part in the inter-confederation play-offs in March 2026.

Teams through to 2026 World Cup Hosts: 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. Oceania: New Zealand. South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay. Each of Fifa's six confederations use different methods of qualification to determine which nations out of each continent qualify for the World Cup. Oceania is currently the only continent to have completed its direct qualification process for next year's World Cup. Of the 48 teams at the tournament, three places are given to the host nations and 43 of them are earned via direct qualification from the six confederations. The other two spots are determined via the results of the intercontinental play-offs.

Qualifying places: Six, plus one into intercontinental play-offs. Teams already through: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay. Intercontinental play-offs: Bolivia. South American qualifying comprises a big group involving all 10 teams playing 18 games each, which started in September 2023. The top six all reach the World Cup, with seventh place going into the intercontinental play-offs. With their qualifying now over, Bolivia beat Brazil 1-0 in the final round of games to reach the intercontinental play-offs.

Qualifying places: Eight, plus one into intercontinental play-offs. Teams already through: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan. Asian qualifying started in October 2023 with the lower-ranked teams in action. In the third round, the top two teams in three different groups qualified automatically. Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan have secured their spots. One other side will progress via the intercontinental play-offs following an Asia play-off in November. That will be between UAE and Iraq.

Qualifying places: Nine, plus one into intercontinental play-offs Teams already through: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia There are nine African groups of World Cup qualifying, each with six teams, which started in November 2023. The top team in each group go through automatically - with Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia guaranteeing their places. The best four runners-up go into play-offs in November for the chance to earn a spot into the intercontinental play-offs.

Qualifying places: Six (including three hosts), plus two into intercontinental play-offs. Teams already through: None through qualifying - Canada, Mexico and United States automatically as co-hosts. The Concacaf qualifying takes a different look, with three of their biggest hitters not involved as they have qualified as hosts - but still plenty of spots up for grabs. Twelve teams are involved in a third round of qualifying which started this month. The winners of each group go to the World Cup and the two best-ranked runners-up going into the intercontinental play-offs. Suriname, Curacao and Honduras currently lead the three groups.

Qualifying places: 16. Teams already through: England There are 12 groups - with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup and the 12 runners-up going into play-offs with the four best-ranked Uefa Nations League group winners that have not already qualified - for four extra places. Europe is the only continent that does not have a team in the intercontinental play-offs. Qualifying started in March - with some teams not even playing their first qualifiers until this month because of the Nations League. The groups end in November, with the play-offs in March 2026. England became the first team to qualify from Europe by beating Latvia on Tuesday to guarantee top spot in Group K. Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Belgium and Croatia are the current leaders in the other groups.

Qualifying places: One, plus one nation into intercontinental play-offs. Teams already through: New Zealand. Oceania qualifying has already ended - with New Zealand beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the final. New Zealand go through to the World Cup automatically, as a result of the expanded World Cup. Oceania usually only gets a play-off spot. New Caledonia, a French overseas territory, will take part in intercontinental play-offs in March 2026 - featuring teams from Africa, Asia, South America and North America - with two out of six teams going through.

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