The 2026 World Cup is just over a year away and while some spots have already been secured, plenty of sides are still in the hunt for places at the tournament. The Independent takes a look at how qualifying has gone so far around the globe and what’s ahead.
The first round of qualifying has now finished and the top two teams in each group will qualify automatically. That means that Germany and Italy are already guaranteed a place at the tournament, with France and Croatia also making a safe start to their campaigns.
In Europe, the 54 qualifying nations were split into 12 groups of four or five teams apiece. Each team played every other side in the group twice and the winners of each group qualified for the World Cup. The runners-up, along with the four best-ranked sides remaining from a separate UEFA competition – the Nations League – went into inter-confederation play-offs.
South American qualifying began in September 2023 and, despite co-hosts Argentina being the first side through to the finals, competition remains tight. Lionel Scaloni’s side are currently top of the group, with Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay all in close pursuit.
The next round of qualifying begins in September 2025 and will see the group runners-up face each other over a single round-robin. This will decide the two sides to go through to the fourth round of play-offs. In the fourth round, one of the sides will qualify for the World Cup and the other will compete in a two-legged tie against the winner of the third-placed group to determine which nation is sent to the inter-confederation play-offs.