The 2026 World Cup, the largest ever, will feature 48 national teams for the first time
Argentina will be defending their title, whilst 48 teams will compete for the 2026 World Cup for the first time
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest in the tournament’s history. For the first time, 48 national teams will compete for the trophy, with matches taking place across three countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Both traditional football giants and teams making their World Cup debut have qualified for the finals. The expansion of the format has given Curaçao, Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan the chance to make their debut.
In the North and Central America zone, the tournament hosts — Canada, Mexico and the USA — secured automatic qualification. They were joined by Panama, who will be playing in the World Cup for the second time, and Haiti, who are returning to the tournament for the first time since 1974. Curaçao will become the smallest nation in history to qualify for the World Cup.
South America will be represented by reigning world champions Argentina, five-time tournament winners Brazil, as well as Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. Paraguay has returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, whilst Colombia will be playing after missing out on the 2022 tournament.
Europe will have the largest representation of all the confederations. Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey have all qualified for the finals.
Of particular note is the return of Norway and Scotland, who have not featured in the World Cup since 1998. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be playing in the tournament after missing the previous two World Cups.
Africa will be represented by ten teams for the first time. Algeria, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will all feature in the finals.
Morocco heads into the tournament following its historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup. Cape Verde is making its World Cup debut, whilst the Democratic Republic of the Congo returns to the tournament for the first time since 1974.
Asia will be represented by Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan. For Jordan and Uzbekistan, this will be their first World Cup. Iraq is returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Australia and New Zealand will represent Oceania. The Australians will be playing in their sixth consecutive World Cup, whilst New Zealand are returning to the tournament for the first time since 2010.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament in history to feature 48 teams and the largest football competition ever held under the auspices of FIFA.
