Who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

A record 48 teams will play in the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

On Sunday, Ghana became the fifth African nation to qualify. The 2010 quarterfinalist joins Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia at next year’s tournament.

Forty-three teams will get their spots through continental qualifying tournaments. Another two will secure their places in the intercontinental playoffs featuring six teams and scheduled for March 2026. The three host countries automatically qualify.

The breakdown

Asia will have eight direct places and one in the intercontinental playoff.

Africa has nine direct spots plus one for the intercontinental playoff.

North and Central America and the Caribbean get three direct berths (plus the three host nations) and another two spots in the intercontinental playoffs.

South America has six direct spots and will send another team to the intercontinental playoffs.

Oceania for the first time has a guaranteed spot — New Zealand clinched that in March. It could add another with New Caledonia going into the intercontinental playoffs.

Europe will have 16 teams sure to play in the World Cup.

ALREADY QUALIFIED

North America

United States, Mexico, Canada (qualified automatically as hosts)

Africa

Algeria

Egypt

Ghana

Morocco

Tunisia

Asia

Australia

Iran

Japan

Jordan

South Korea

Uzbekistan

Oceania

New Zealand

South America

Argentina

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Paraguay

Uruguay

ACCRA: Ghana became the fifth African nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup on Sunday.

The 2010 quarterfinalist joins Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia at next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ghana needed a point against Comoros in its final game in Group I to be certain of qualifying for back-to-back World Cups and sealed its place with a 1-0 win at Accra Sports Stadium.

In the end it didn't even need that after second-placed Madagascar lost 4-1 at Mali.

Tottenham forward Mohammed Kudus scored the decisive goal in the 47th minute to ensure Ghana qualified in style.

Madagascar still finished second, but victory would have improved its chances of being one of the four best runners-up, which compete for a place in the playoffs.

The nine group winners automatically qualify for the World Cup. The four best runners-up play in a mini tournament of two semifinals and a final in November.

The winning team advances to FIFA's playoff tournament against opponents from Asia, CONCACAF, South America and Oceania.

Burkina Faso, second in Group A behind Egypt, rounded off its campaign with a 3-1 win against Ethiopia, with substitute Pierre Landry Kabore scoring a second-half hat trick.

Egypt had already qualified and picked up another win by beating Guinea-Bissau 1-0.

In Group E Niger beat Zambia 1-0 and finished second.

TALLINN: Italy’s hopes of at least making the World Cup qualifying playoffs were given a boost with a 3-1 win away to Estonia on Saturday thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering of Israel in Group I earlier on Saturday.

The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points.

The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy raced into a fourth minute lead when Federico Dimarco played the ball into the feet of Kean who twisted and turned his way into the area before unleashing a shot into the far corner.

That was Kean’s fourth goal in three games for Italy, but the striker was forced off through injury shortly afterwards, replaced by Esposito whose only previous international appearance also came off the bench against Estonia in September.

Retegui won a penalty when fouled by Marten Kuusk but failed to convert as Karl Hein tipped his effort onto the post.

“The important thing is to create — missing goals and penalties can happen,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso told RAI Sport. “The boys are eager and continuing on the right path.”

The Italian forward made up for that miss when doubling the visitors’ lead seven minutes before the break. Riccardo Orsolini played a pass back from the byline and Retegui smashed the ball past Hein from just outside the six-yard box.

ESPOSITO OFF THE MARK

The second half was a tamer affair until Leonardo Spinazzola’s ball into the area was met first time by Esposito to net his first international goal in the 74th minute.

“I’m very emotional, these are things you can’t explain or fully grasp in the moment,” Esposito told Sky.

“I still need to process it, but I’m incredibly happy, everything happened so fast.”

Two minutes later and after Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma had been an onlooker for much of the game, the visiting keeper spilled Markus Soomets’ cross at the feet of substitute Rauno Sappinen for the easiest of tap-ins.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gattuso’s side.

“There are many positive things, we have to follow our own path,” Gattuso told Sky.

“We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do and we hold on to the good we’ve done.”

OSLO: Norway secured a commanding 5-0 win at home to Israel in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday, as Erling Haaland struck a hat-trick to celebrate his 50th international goal and helped move his side to the brink of a place at next year’s tournament.

Norway had tightened security ahead of the match due to scheduled protests, closing off the stands around a section of roughly 100 Israel supporters waving national flags.

Norwegian fans are divided over Israel’s participation in the World Cup qualifying competition due to the war in Gaza.

Norway have now won all six of their Group I matches, boasting a goal difference of plus 26 ahead of their remaining two fixtures against Estonia and second-placed Italy, who sit nine points behind with two games in hand.

Despite missing a twice-taken penalty early on, Haaland found his rhythm, scoring once in the first half and twice after the break to reach his 50-goal milestone and finishing the night with an incredible 51 in 46 internationals.

Israel added to their own misery with two own goals in the first half from Anan Khalaili and Idan Nachmias.

HIGH SECURITY

Ahead of Saturday’s game, hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered to protest outside the Norwegian parliament, with many wearing the jerseys of the Palestine national team.

Marching toward Ullevaal Stadium with Palestinian flags and flares, the protesters gathered outside, vowing to continue until kickoff as nearby buildings displayed pro-Palestinian banners hanging from balconies.

As Israel’s anthem played, loud boos echoed around the stadium, while large Palestinian flags and a banner reading “Let children live” were displayed in the stands.

On the pitch, Haaland came close to scoring early on when Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz showcased his brilliance. First, he produced a sharp reflex save, then denied Haaland from the penalty spot twice after the kick was ordered to be retaken.

The match was briefly halted when a pitch invader ran onto the field, capping off a chaotic opening 10 minutes.

Relief finally came for the home fans in the 18th when Alexander Sorloth broke down the flank and sent in a low cross that deflected off Israel forward Khalaili and looped into the net, giving the Norwegians a deserved lead.

In the 27th minute Haaland made up for his penalty miss and doubled the lead after a through pass from Sorloth.

A minute later Norway went three goals up as a panicked clearance from Peretz struck his defender Nachmias and rolled into the net for Israel’s second own goal of the match.

HAALAND REACHES FIFTY-GOALS MILESTONE

In the second half, Haaland marked a special milestone by netting his 50th goal for Norway, heading in Antonio Nusa’s cross in the 63rd. Nine minutes later an almost identical move saw Haaland score again to complete his hat-trick and seal a memorable night for the Manchester City striker.

The home fans stayed behind after the match, singing ‘Norway will go to the World Cup’ to the tune of Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ as they celebrated in the belief that the long wait since 1998 to reach the finals again is nearly over.

“We still have two matches left to go. It’s great to execute such a solid game today,” Nusa told TV2. “We just have to enjoy it. There’s still a lot of work to do but I’m just enjoying it.”

OSLO: Hundreds of people attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Oslo on Saturday ahead of Israel’s World Cup qualifier against Norway, chanting “Free Palestine” to protest against Israel’s “genocide,” AFP journalists reported.

Many demonstrators wore Palestinian keffiyeh shawls draped over their shoulders and waved Palestinian flags as they gathered in the city center before walking in a procession to the Ullevaal stadium.

Smoke flares were lit but the atmosphere remained calm.

“The message today is to say we give the red card to Israel, to apartheid, and to genocide,” said Line Khateeb, the head of the Norwegian Committee for Palestine, one of the organizers of the protest.

“We do not accept football being used to whitewash war crimes, as we see today when Israel participates in the World Cup qualification games,” she told AFP.

Demonstrators carried banners reading “Exclude Israel from International Football,” “From the River to the Sea,” “Red Card to Israel” and “It’s a Genocide, Not a War.”

“Israel has been committing genocide for the last two years and killing indiscriminately, doing the most horrible thing that could be imaginable,” one of the demonstrators, Munib Sarwar, a 40-year-old engineer, told AFP.

“We need to show solidarity with the children and the people of Gaza who have been terrorized for the last two years,” he added.

Organizers decided to go ahead with the demonstration despite the Gaza ceasefire deal reached Thursday between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

“It’s not the end of the occupation. It doesn’t mean the West Bank is free. It doesn’t mean Palestine is free. We need to keep pushing and putting sanctions on Israel to hold them accountable in order to have a proper free Palestine,” Khateeb said.

Heavy security was in place for the match.

Dozens of police officers on horseback and others in riot gear were posted near the stadium, an AFP journalist at the scene saw.

The head of the Norwegian football association, Lise Klaveness, recently said she was pushing “for Israel to be sanctioned.”

“Personally, I think that if Russia is excluded, Israel should be as well,” she said in a Norwegian podcast.

Several days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, UEFA and FIFA agreed to exclude Russian teams and clubs from all international competitions, a sanction that remains in place.

The Norwegian Football Association has previously said it would donate the proceeds from the ticket sales for Saturday’s match to Doctors Without Borders.

With five victories in five matches, Norway top Group I of European qualifying with 15 points ahead of Italy and Israel, who both have nine points.

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