Photo of Fauzan Saari in Unsplash
The excitement is building across South America this Friday!
The six teams that will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup have been confirmed:
- Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador secured their tickets in advance.
- In the recent matchday, Uruguay defeated Peru resoundingly 3-0 and secured their qualification.
- Colombia, also with a resounding 3-0 win over Bolivia, joined the list.
- Paraguay got what it needed with a draw against Ecuador, securing its qualification.
Thus, the South American qualifiers are: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, and Paraguay. In seventh place, Venezuela still has a chance of reaching the intercontinental playoffs.
Central America: no qualifiers yet, but intense competition
In the Central American region, the situation is different:
No Central American team has yet qualified directly. The few available spots belong to three countries in the region, but as hosts: the United States, Mexico, and Canada, they have already qualified automatically.
However, Central America is active in the final phase of the CONCACAF qualifiers, which recently began. The region is competing alongside many other teams for three additional direct tickets and two playoff spots.
In a friendly opening match of this round, El Salvador achieved a key away victory against Guatemala, securing a favorable position in their group. The format stipulates that the winners of each group will advance directly, while the two best runners-up will compete in the playoffs.
Qualified for the 2026 World Cup outside of CONMEBOL and CONCACAF
- Asia (AFC): Six tickets already guarantee their historic presence.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed the following teams for the 2026 World Cup:
Japan, the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Other teams also include Iran, South Korea, Australia, Jordan (historic qualification, first World Cup qualification), and Uzbekistan, the latter also making its debut in the World Cup.
- Oceania (OFC): New Zealand makes history
For the first time, the Oceanic Confederation secured a direct spot in a World Cup:
- New Zealand was crowned by defeating New Caledonia in the final of the Oceanic playoff.
- Africa (CAF): No qualifiers yet
No African team has yet secured its place. Qualifying is still ongoing, and the first decisive matches until October have yet to be concluded.
- Europe (UEFA): No direct pass defined for now
Like Africa, Europe still has no officially qualified teams. The group stages will continue until the end of the year, so the 16 European representatives have yet to be determined.
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