2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Process
European Qualifiers
The European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin in March 2025. Teams will be drawn into groups of five, and each team will play four home and four away matches. The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the runners-up will enter the play-offs.
Asian Qualifiers
The Asian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for national teams of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Eight Asian teams will directly qualify for the global finals.
North American Qualifiers
The North American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The format of the qualifiers has not yet been announced, but it is expected that the top six teams from the CONCACAF Nations League will automatically qualify for the World Cup.
South American Qualifiers
The South American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in a single round-robin format. The top four teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the fifth-placed team will enter the play-offs.
African Qualifiers
The African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in a two-leg format. The first leg will be played in November 2023, and the second leg will be played in March 2024. The winners of each tie will advance to the play-offs.
Oceania Qualifiers
The Oceania qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in a single-elimination format. The winner of the Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup will automatically qualify for the World Cup.
Conclusion
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first to be hosted by three countries. The tournament will be expanded to 48 teams, up from 32 teams in the 2022 World Cup. The qualification process for the 2026 World Cup will be long and challenging, but it will ultimately determine which teams will have the honor of representing their countries on the world's biggest stage.
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