Football Dec 07, 2025

World Cup 2026: Who has qualified and when is the draw? Full list of teams for USA, Canada and Mexico

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
World Cup 2026: Who has qualified and when is the draw? Full list of teams for USA, Canada and Mexico

Forty-two teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup so far, with six more places up for grabs at next summer's 48-team tournament.

Among those to have booked their place already are Curacao, with the Caribbean island becoming the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup.

Curacao will join holders Argentina and home nations England and Scotland at the tournament, which is taking place across three host nations - Canada, Mexico and USA - from June 11 to July 19.

It will be the biggest yet, with 48 nations taking part - 16 more than in Qatar 2022. Here are the countries that have qualified so far for the tournament...

There are six spots still to be decided, and four of those will be taken by European teams via UEFA's play-offs.

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Wales are all in the running to qualify via this route in March - more on that to come below.

The other two remaining places at the World Cup will be taken by teams from the other confederations with Iraq, DR Congo, Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname battling for the chance to qualify via the two inter-confederation paths.

Wales host Bosnia and Herzegovina while Republic of Ireland travel to Czech Republic hoping to keep their World Cup hopes alive in the European play-offs. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, travel to Italy in the semi-finals.

As Wales and Northern Ireland were drawn in the same path, the two nations could meet in a potential play-off final, hosted by the Red Dragons. Should Republic of Ireland win their semi-final they will have home advantage in the final against Denmark or North Macedonia.

The one-legged semi-finals will take place on Thursday, March 26 at 5pm or 7.45pm, and the finals on Tuesday March 31 with kick-off times of 5pm or 7.45pm.

Play-off Path A:
Semi-final: Italy vs Northern Ireland
Semi-final: Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Final: Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy/Northern Ireland

Play-off Path B:
Semi-final: Ukraine vs Sweden
Semi-final: Poland vs Albania
Final: Ukraine/Sweden vs Poland/Albania

Play-off Path C:
Semi-final: Turkey vs Romania
Semi-final: Slovakia vs Kosovo
Final: Slovakia/Kosovo vs Turkey/Romania

Play-off Path D:
Semi-final: Denmark vs North Macedonia
Semi-final: Czech Republic vs Republic of Ireland
Final: Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland vs Denmark/North Macedonia

Play-off Path A:
Semi-final: New Caledonia vs Jamaica
Final: New Caledonia/Jamaica vs Congo

Play-off Path B:
Semi-final: Bolivia vs Suriname
Final: Bolivia/Suriname vs Iraq

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on December 5 at 5pm UK and Ireland time (12pm local time).

US President Donald Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the John F Kennedy Center - a performing arts venue where Trump is chairman - to decide the group stage fixtures.

Announcing the draw venue at the White House in August, Trump said the World Cup was "the biggest event in sports", while Infantino declared the 104 matches would be like "104 Super Bowls".

The full fixture list with group games and kick-off times will be available after the draw, but FIFA has already announced key dates and confirmed that the opening match will be held in Mexico City.

The final will take place at the New York-New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium - home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.

Group stage: June 11-27

Round of 32: June 28 to July 3

Round of 16: July 4-7

Quarter-finals: July 9-11

Semi-finals: July 14-15

Third-place play-off ('Bronze final'): July 18

Final: July 19

Tags:

football news id:13427475

Share this article

Related Posts

Arsenal: Paul Merson says Mikel Arteta's side will win title if they beat Fulham as Jamie Carragher warns about 'banana skin'

Arsenal: Paul Merson says Mikel Arteta's side will win title if they beat Fulham as Jamie Carragher warns about 'banana skin'

Paul Merson says Arsenal will end their 22-year wait for another Premier League trophy if they beat Fulham but Jamie Carragher has warned Marco Silva'...

How 10 Premier League teams could be in Europe next season, with six in the Champions League

How 10 Premier League teams could be in Europe next season, with six in the Champions League

The Premier League could have six teams in the Champions League next season and 10 in Europe after a potentially pivotal weekend. Manchester United mo...

Brighton: WSL team reveal plans for first purpose-built stadium for women's football in the UK and Europe

Brighton: WSL team reveal plans for first purpose-built stadium for women's football in the UK and Europe

Brighton have revealed their plans for the first purpose-built stadium for women's football in the UK and Europe.The proposals were first approved by...

Marcus Rashford: Forward happy to take pay cut to seal permanent move from Man Utd to Barcelona - Paper Talk

Marcus Rashford: Forward happy to take pay cut to seal permanent move from Man Utd to Barcelona - Paper Talk

The top stories and transfer rumours from Tuesday's newspapers...Marcus Rashford is willing to take a pay cut to force through a permanent move from M...

Jamie Carragher says James Maddison may have role to play if Tottenham are to stay in Premier League

Jamie Carragher says James Maddison may have role to play if Tottenham are to stay in Premier League

Jamie Carragher has a feeling James Maddison may have a role to play if Tottenham are going to avoid relegation and stay in the Premier League.Spurs w...

Julian Alvarez: Diego Simeone says Arsenal interested in signing Atletico Madrid forward along with PSG and Barcelona

Julian Alvarez: Diego Simeone says Arsenal interested in signing Atletico Madrid forward along with PSG and Barcelona

Arsenal are interested in Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez but face competition to sign him from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, according to...