28 teams have tickets to the 2026 World Cup

More than half of the teams participating in the 2026 World Cup have officially been revealed.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continues to make an impressive mark with 8 representatives participating, including Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Jordan. Of which, Jordan and Uzbekistan are participating in the biggest football festival on the planet for the first time in history.

Africa (CAF) also witnessed a dramatic qualifying campaign as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, South Africa and Cape Verde all completed their tickets to North America. Notably, Cape Verde became the second least populous country in history to participate in a World Cup, after Iceland 2018.

In South America (CONMEBOL), familiar names Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay continue to be present. Argentina – the reigning world champions – is the first team to qualify, while Paraguay marks its return after a 16-year absence.

The European region (UEFA) has only confirmed England as the first team to win a ticket, while the remaining places are fiercely contested. Meanwhile, New Zealand is the only representative of Oceania (OFC) to participate after defeating New Caledonia 3-0.

The three host teams, the United States, Mexico and Canada, are automatically qualified. For the United States and Canada, this is their second appearance at the World Cup, while Mexico sets a record for hosting the tournament the most times (3 times).

As of now, 28 of the 48 spots have been claimed. The other six teams (Bolivia, New Caledonia and four undecided teams) will enter the intercontinental play-offs to compete for a place. The remaining European, CONCACAF and South American spots will be determined in the coming period.

The 2026 World Cup promises to be an unprecedented tournament – in terms of scale, duration and appeal – as emerging powers and traditional powers aim for the prestigious gold cup in North America.