The FIFA World Cup qualifiers are entering a crucial stage, with some major teams battling to secure their tickets to the 2026 men's tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the US, while others are celebrating historic first-time qualifications.
With 28 teams already confirmed for the 2026 men's World Cup, 20 spots remain.
Starting 14 November, a slew of qualifying games will be played, and 14 more spots will be locked in by the 19 November.
This is the first time the World Cup will feature 48 teams, following the tournament's expansion.
Some smaller teams have already secured qualification, but several high-ranked footballing nations are yet to secure their berth, and past World Cup champions are currently facing an uphill battle.
On 6 December, Australia and 41 other nations will learn their group-stage fate at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw in Washington DC, and you can watch it all live on SBS and SBS On Demand.
In March, four other European teams will qualify, while six more teams will compete at the inter-confederation play-offs for the final two spots.
Which teams have already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Good news, Australia has already qualified.
After beating Japan for the first time in 16 years and winning against Saudi Arabia in June, the Socceroos secured their World Cup place.
All nine teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) heading to the World Cup are already known.
Iran, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Qatar, and Uzbekistan are the other teams that have qualified from the AFC. This is the first time Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified for the world's biggest football tournament.
Source: SBS News
In South America, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay have qualified, and New Zealand will return to the World Cup following their last appearance in 2010 through Oceania.
In Africa, nine teams have already qualified, with a special team making history.
Cape Verde, an island country in West Africa with a population of nearly 600,000, secured its spot in the World Cup last month. After Iceland, Cape Verde is the second smallest country by population to qualify for the tournament.
England is so far the only European national team that has guaranteed a spot.
Which qualifying matches will be closely watched?
With teams playing 48 qualifying matches from 14 to 19 November, 14 more teams will qualify for the World Cup directly.
In the European qualification system, nations are split into six groups of four teams and six groups of five teams, with the winners of each group qualifying automatically for the final tournament.
This means some of the teams at the top of their group, such as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, can possibly secure World Cup qualification in the coming days.
One of the matches worth keeping an eye on is the Germany and Slovakia fixture in Group A. Both teams are deadlocked at the top of the standings with nine points, and next week's match will determine who qualifies.
But the biggest one to watch will be the Group I clash between Italy and Norway. Norway is currently leading the table with 3 points more than Italy. If they beat Estonia and Italy fails to defeat Moldova, they will return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
However, if Italy beats its rival, the group will be decided in the final round of fixtures, when the two teams will play against each other on 17 November.
Meanwhile, Austria will also qualify for their first World Cup since France 1998 if they beat Cyprus and Bosnia and Herzegovina fail to defeat Romania on 15 November.
Also in November, the final round of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football will be played, and the three group winners will qualify directly to the World Cup.
Suriname, Jamaica and Honduras are currently at the top of their groups, but standings could change quickly.
Not entirely over for other teams
This won't be the end of the World Cup qualifiers excitement, as the fate of six more teams will be decided in March.
During that period, all 12 group runners-up in Europe will compete in the second round of qualifying. The four best winners from these matches will move forward to the World Cup.
Six other non-European teams will also contest in March’s inter-confederation play-offs, seeking their last chance to secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup.
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