World Cup 2026 qualified teams: full list and groups

Once every qualifying stage was completed, all 48 teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup were confirmed. The tournament will take place from 11 June to 19 July 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The next World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams from six regional confederations.

Who will win the 2026 World Cup?

Below is the full list of countries taking part in the World Cup in America, along with the complete group and confederation breakdown.

Full list of teams qualified for World Cup 2026

World Cup qualifying ended on 1 April 2026, when the final whistles were blown in the UEFA play-off finals and the interconfederation play-off finals. Iraq became the final national team to secure a place in the finals.

List of all 2026 World Cup participants

World Cup 2026 groups in full

With the number of teams expanded, the number of groups has also increased. There will be 12 groups at the 2026 World Cup, each featuring four teams.

List of the 2026 World Cup groups

A more detailed breakdown of each group and the most interesting outright bets for the group stage can be found in our article.

England at the 2026 World Cup: group, fixtures and route

England will compete in Group L, where they will face Croatia, Ghana and Panama. Bookmakers make the Three Lions favourites to top the group at 3/10

England will play their first match almost a week after the start of the World Cup, facing their main rivals for top spot, Croatia, on 17 June at 21:00.

England vs Croatia, 18 June

England will then face Ghana on 23 June at 21:00 and Panama on 27 June at 22:00.

Given the quality in the squad, England are unlikely to have issues maintaining match rhythm, even with sizeable gaps between fixtures. The final game against Panama may also carry little significance in terms of the table, which could see Thomas Tuchel rotate his side to avoid injuries to key players.

The first knockout round should not present a major obstacle for England either, especially if they finish top of the group, as they would be set to face one of the third placed teams.

The Three Lions could also get a favourable draw in the last 16. Based on the pre-tournament outlook, they would face either the winners of Group A, where bookmakers have Mexico as favourites at 1/1 or another third placed side.

Which home nations qualified?

England were flawless in qualifying, winning all eight matches with a goal difference of 22:0. Scotland also came through without major problems, finishing top of their group with just one defeat.

Wales came close to reaching a second consecutive World Cup. The team finished second in qualifying, just two points behind Belgium. In effect, they were five minutes away from the play-off final. Edin Dzeko equalised for Bosnia in the 86th minute, before the Bosnians came out on top in the penalty shootout, winning 4:2.

Northern Ireland also missed out on the World Cup, finishing third in qualifying behind Slovakia and Germany.

How the new World Cup 2026 format works

After the World Cup was expanded to 48 teams, the number of groups increased and an additional knockout round was added.

The tournament will now feature 12 groups of four teams. The top two nations in each group will still progress to the knockout stage, while the eight best third placed teams will also go through.

On the one hand, more matches at a tournament of this level is always a positive for the average fan. However, the quality of the matches and the intrigue in the group stage have taken a serious hit. There is not a single group of death at the 2026 World Cup, and the favourites in each quartet are clear.

Qualified teams by confederation

Thanks to the increase in the number of participants, more teams from the six regional confederations will be represented at the 2026 World Cup:

• AFC: Australia, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan;

• CAF: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia;

• CONCACAF: Curaçao, Haiti, Panama;

• CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay;

• OFC: New Zealand;

• UEFA: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye.

In addition, Canada, Mexico and the USA received places as tournament hosts.

One positive of that decision is that African and Asian national teams have been given more opportunities. The Oceania Football Confederation has also been handed a guaranteed World Cup place for the first time.

The downside is that the competitiveness of many of the teams who have qualified raises questions even at the group stage, while their chances of going deep in the tournament are virtually non existent.

The biggest absentees from World Cup 2026

The biggest disappointment of the 2026 World Cup is Italy's failure to reach the finals, with the Azzurri missing a third consecutive tournament. The World Cup will lose out in terms of spectacle and competitiveness without them. Players of the calibre of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Federico Dimarco and Nicolò Barella will certainly be missed at the finals.

Italy's failure to qualify will most likely have disappointed FIFA as well. Matches involving Bosnia and Herzegovina are certain to attract fewer fans in stadiums and in front of screens than Italy fixtures would have done, while the national team's absence from the finals will also be a blow to marketing in Italian speaking countries and regions.

Italy somehow managed to lose to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European play-off final, drawing 1:1 before going down 4:1 on penalties, despite taking the lead in the 15th minute and having 30 shots at goal.

Another notable absentee is Poland, who endured a disastrous 2018 World Cup by finishing bottom of their group, but then reached the knockout stage in Qatar, where they lost 1:3 to eventual finalists France. Poland are going through a generational change, so we will be waiting to see rising stars such as Jakub Kamiński, Bartosz Mrozek and Arkadiusz Pyrka at the 2030 World Cup.

Serbia also came close to the qualifying playoffs, but ultimately finished one point behind Albania. Their situation is similar: national team leaders Aleksandar Mitrović, Sergej Milinković-Savić and Filip Kostić are already over 30, while the new generation is still gaining experience outside Europe's top five leagues.

FAQ

Read also: