2026 FIFA World Cup: UEFA Qualifier and Who Else Still Has Hope

Qualifiers

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played with 48 teams around the world. Qualifiers began on 12 Oct 2023, with AFC (Asian Football Confederation), and Japan was the first team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Following the Asian Qualifiers contains the five grounds of the qualifying process with 46 teams competing for 8 direct slots and 1 Intercontinental Playoff slot, which means a total of 9 potential slots.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is divided into 6 confederations, and 206 countries participated in the qualifiers for 45 slots. Except for Mexico, Canada, and the United States, they have already qualified as host nations.

39 slots are already filled for the 2026 FIFA World Cup out of 45 slots. The remaining 6 slots will be decided in the March 2026 playoffs, 2 teams from the Intercontinental Playoffs out of 6 teams, and 4 teams UEFA Qualifiers Playoffs out of 16 teams.

39/45 Qualifying Teams

UEFA – Union of European Football Associations (12/16)

England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Scotland, Spain, Austria, Belgium

AFC – Asian Football Confederation (8/8)

Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea

CAF – Confederation of African Football (9/9)

Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

CONCACAF – Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (3/3)

Panama, Curaçao, Haiti

CONMEBOL – South American Football Confederation (6/6)

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

OFC – Oceania Football Confederation (1/1)

New Zealand

UEFA – Union of European Football Associations

UEFA has the most slots in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 16 teams qualifying, of which 12 teams are already confirmed, and 4 will be decided in the UEFA Playoffs in March 2026. 55 teams are part of UEFA Confederation, and 54 teams have participated except Russian (RFS) because of the invasion of Ukraine. But Israel is still part of it after the genocide in GAZA. This clearly shows the hypocrisy and double standards of FIFA and UEFA. Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) made clear before the qualifiers that if Israel qualifies for the FIFA World Cup 2026, they will not be part of it.

UEFA Qualifying Teams

England

• England have qualified for the World Cup 16 times (including 2026).
• Their only World Cup triumph came in 1966 when they hosted the tournament.
• Geoff Hurst scored the first and only hat-trick in a men’s World Cup final in 1966.
• Aside from 1966, their best finishes have been fourth place (including 2018).

France

• France have qualified 17 times (including 2026).
• They are two-time world champions, winning in 1998 and 2018.
• They have reached four finals (1998, 2006, 2018, 2022).
• They have qualified for eight consecutive World Cups (1998–2026).

Croatia

• Croatia will make their 7th World Cup appearance in 2026.
• Their best result was runners-up in 2018.
• They finished third in 1998 and 2022.

Norway

• Norway have qualified 4 times (including 2026).
• Their best runs were reaching the Round of 16 in 1938 and 1998.
• Their 2026 qualification ends a 28-year absence.
• They stunned Italy in qualifying, with Erling Haaland scoring 16 goals.

Portugal

• Portugal have qualified 9 times (including 2026).
• Their best finish was third place in 1966.
• Eusébio led the team to their only World Cup medal.

Germany

• Germany have qualified 21 times (including 2026).
• They have won the World Cup four times (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014).
• They have the most titles of any European nation.

Netherlands

• The Netherlands have qualified 12 times (including 2026).
• They reached the World Cup final in 1974, 1978, and 2010.
• They have never won the trophy.

Switzerland

• Switzerland have qualified 13 times (including 2026).
• Their best runs were quarter-final appearances in 1934, 1938, and 1954.
• They reached the quarter-final as hosts in 1954.

Scotland

• Scotland have qualified 9 times (including 2026).
• They have never advanced past the group stage in any World Cup.
• They ended a 24-year absence by qualifying in 2022.
• They will appear again in 2026.

Spain

• Spain have qualified 17 times (including 2026).
• They won the World Cup in 2010.
• Spain were the first European team to win the World Cup outside Europe.

Austria

• Austria have qualified 8 times (including 2026).
• Their best World Cup result was third place in 1954.
• They also finished fourth in 1934 and 1954.

Belgium

• Belgium have qualified 15 times (including 2026).
• Their best result was third place in 2018.
• They also reached the semi-finals in 1986.

Group A

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Germany	6	5	0	1	16	3	13	15
2	Slovakia	6	4	0	2	6	8	-2	12
3	Northern Ireland	6	3	0	3	7	6	1	9
4	Luxembourg	6	0	0	6	1	13	-12	0

Qualified Play-offs

Group B

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Switzerland	6	4	2	0	14	2	12	14
2	Kosovo	6	3	2	1	6	5	1	11
3	Slovenia	6	0	4	2	3	8	-5	4
2	Sweden	6	0	2	4	4	12	-8	2

Qualified Play-offs

Group C

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Scotland	6	4	1	1	13	7	6	13
2	Denmark	6	3	2	1	16	7	9	11
3	Greece	6	2	1	3	10	12	-2	7
4	Belarus	6	0	2	4	4	17	-13	2

Qualified Play-offs

Group D

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	France	6	5	1	0	16	4	12	16
2	Ukraine	6	3	1	2	10	11	-1	10
3	Iceland	6	2	1	3	13	11	2	7
4	Azerbaijan	6	0	1	5	3	16	-13	1

Qualified Play-offs

Group E

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Spain	6	5	1	0	21	2	19	16
2	Türkiye	6	4	1	1	17	12	5	13
3	Georgia	6	1	0	5	7	15	-8	3
4	Bulgaria	6	1	0	5	3	19	-16	3

Qualified Play-offs

Group F

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Portugal	6	4	1	1	20	7	13	13
2	Republic of Ireland	6	3	1	2	9	7	2	10
3	Hungary	6	2	2	2	11	10	1	8
4	Armenia	6	1	0	5	3	19	-16	3

Qualified Play-offs

Group G

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Netherlands	8	6	2	0	27	4	23	20
2	Poland	8	5	2	1	14	7	7	17
3	Finland	8	3	1	4	8	14	-6	10
4	Malta	8	1	2	5	4	19	-15	5
5	Lithuania	8	0	3	5	6	15	-9	3

Qualified Play-offs

Group H

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Austria	8	6	1	1	22	4	18	19
2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	8	5	2	1	17	7	10	17
3	Romania	8	4	1	3	19	10	9	13
4	Cyprus	8	2	2	4	11	11	0	8
5	San Marino	8	0	0	8	2	39	-37	0

Qualified Play-offs

Group I

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Norway	8	8	0	0	37	5	32	24
2	Italy	8	6	0	2	21	12	9	18
3	Israel	8	4	0	4	19	20	-1	12
4	Estonia	8	1	1	6	8	21	-13	4
5	Moldova	8	0	1	7	5	32	-27	1

Qualified Play-offs

Group J

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Belgium	8	5	3	0	29	7	22	18
2	Wales	8	5	1	2	21	11	10	16
3	North Macedonia	8	3	4	1	13	10	3	13
4	Kazakhstan	8	2	2	4	9	13	-4	8
5	Liechtenstein	8	0	0	8	0	31	-31	0

Qualified Play-offs

Group K

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	England	8	8	0	0	22	0	22	24
2	Albania	8	4	2	2	7	5	2	14
3	Serbia	8	4	1	3	9	10	-1	13
4	Latvia	8	1	2	5	5	15	-10	5
5	Andorra	8	0	1	7	3	16	-13	1

Qualified Play-offs

Group L

#	Team	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Croatia	8	7	1	0	26	4	22	22
2	Czechia	8	5	1	2	18	8	10	16
3	Faroe Islands	8	4	0	4	11	9	2	12
4	Montenegro	8	3	0	5	8	17	-9	9
5	Gibraltar	8	0	0	8	3	28	-25	0

Qualified Play-offs

UEFA Playoffs

UEFA playoffs will be held March 2026 in which 16 teams fought for 4 remaining slots for FIFA World Cup 2026. 12 teams from 12 group runner ups and 4 team as per UEFA Nation League standings which were not able to qualify.

Here is the list of 16 teams and there fixtures

PATH A

WINNER QUALIFIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™

PATH A SEMI-FINAL 1

ITL

vs

NIR

PATH A SEMI-FINAL 2

WAL

vs

BOS

PATH A FINAL

ITL

or

NIR

v

WAL

or

BOS

PATH B

WINNER QUALIFIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™

PATH B SEMI-FINAL 1

UKR

vs

SWE

PATH B SEMI-FINAL 2

POL

vs

ALB

PATH B FINAL

UKR

or

SWE

v

POL

or

ALB

PATH C

WINNER QUALIFIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™

PATH C SEMI-FINAL 1

TUR

vs

ROM

PATH C SEMI-FINAL 2

KOS

vs

SVK

PATH C FINAL

TUR

or

ROM

v

KOS

or

SVK

PATH D

WINNER QUALIFIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™

PATH D SEMI-FINAL 1

DEN

vs

RNM

PATH D SEMI-FINAL 2

CZE

vs

IRE

PATH D FINAL

DEN

or

RNM

v

CZE

or

IRE

Intercontinental Playoffs

Pathway 1

SEMI-FINAL

New Caledonia v Jamaica

FINAL

New Caledonia/Jamaica v Congo DR

Pathway 2

SEMI-FINAL

Bolivia v Suriname

FINAL

Bolivia/Suriname v Iraq

WINNER QUALIFIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™

PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL 1

NCL

v

JAM

PLAY-OFF FINAL 1

COD

v

NCL

or

JAM

PATH 1

WINNER QUALIFIES FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™

PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL 2

BOL

v

SUR

PLAY-OFF FINAL 2

IRQ

v

BOL

or

SUR

PATH 2