2026 World Cup Qualifiers: The Teams In, The Chaos Still To Come

A Bigger World Cup, But The Same Old Nerves

Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off quietly in October 2023 with a low-key goal from Myanmar’s Lwin Moe Aung against Macau. Fast forward to November 2025 and the picture is anything but quiet.

The expanded 48-team World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, was meant to open the door for more nations. On paper, that is exactly what has happened. Africa has more places, Asia has more places, South America has more places.

Yet the story on the ground feels familiar. Traditional powers are panicking. Smaller nations are dreaming. And some countries are learning that even with extra slots, the road to football’s biggest stage is still unforgiving.

As things stand, 26 of the 45 qualifying spots have been claimed, alongside the three hosts. The rest of the world is stuck in that anxious in-between: calculators out, playlists loaded for long flights, social feeds full of hope, rage and memes.

Who Is Already On The Plane To 2026?

Even with chaos everywhere, a core of heavyweights and rising powers have already booked their tickets.

Europe: England and France
Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
Oceania: New Zealand

The names read like a mix of usual suspects and fresh storylines.

Japan were the first team anywhere in the world to qualify back in March, underlining how settled and efficient they have become in Asian football. In Africa, Morocco and Senegal continued their rise as continental powerhouses, while Cape Verde’s qualification turned the island nation into one big street party.

For South Africans, seeing Bafana Bafana on that confirmed list is still worth pausing over. After so many “rebuild” phases and near misses, just being able to say “we are going to the World Cup” again carries emotional weight.

Europe: Big Beasts Calm, Italy In Turmoil

While England cruised through their group with a perfect record and did not even concede a goal, and France did what France usually do, the real European drama is painted in blue. Once again, Italy’s fate is tangled up in the word that haunts them now: playoffs.

Source: England on X

In Group I, Norway have turned their campaign into a goal-scoring exhibition. With Erling Haaland smashing in 14 goals and the team thrashing Moldova home and away, their goal difference has become uncatchable. Italy, despite six wins in seven games, left themselves with an absurd target: beat Norway by nine goals in Milan to top the group.

Source: CR_74 on X

A tense 2-0 win over Moldova in Chișinău said everything about where Italy are mentally. They needed a cricket score. They got a grind. Gianluca Mancini finally broke the deadlock late on, and Pio Esposito added a second in stoppage time, but the damage had already been done earlier in the campaign.

Italian fans made their feelings known from the stands. Banners, jeers and chants aimed at the federation and at coach Gennaro Gattuso followed the team throughout the night. When the final whistle went, the players and coach barely acknowledged the 400 travelling supporters before disappearing down the tunnel, a small but telling moment.

Gattuso has pushed back against the criticism, pointing to Europe’s tougher qualifying structure compared with South America, where six of ten teams qualify automatically and seventh still gets a playoff. He argues the system is stacked. Italian fans counter that England, France, Spain and Germany are not finding it so hard.

Either way, the reality is simple. Unless something miraculous happens against Norway, Italy will be back in a familiar place: a high pressure, do-or-die playoff in March 2026, where one bad night can erase four years of planning.

Source: Azzuri_EN on X

Europe’s Playoff Maze And The San Marino Twist

If the playoffs are Italy’s nightmare, they are also the dream for Europe’s smaller nations.

The continent will send 12 group winners straight to the World Cup, with the 12 runners-up and four teams from the UEFA Nations League forming a 16-team playoff bracket for the final four spots.

Here is where it gets wonderfully weird. San Marino, often held up as the punchline of European football, still have a path to the World Cup. They have won only three matches in their entire history, but a strong Nations League campaign has put them in line for a playoff route if the maths breaks their way.

In a bizarre twist, San Marino could benefit from losing heavily against Romania in their final qualifier, because that result might secure Romania’s top-two finish and free up a Nations League playoff place.

Africa: Super Eagles, Leopards And A Place On The Line

Source: ESPN Africa on X

In Africa, the nine automatic spots are filled, but there is still one precious ticket left to chase, via the intercontinental playoffs. That race has turned into a blockbuster mini-tournament in Morocco.

Nigeria and DR Congo won their semifinals and will meet on Sunday to decide who earns the right to face the rest of the world in March 2026.

Nigeria’s path has been anything but smooth. On paper, a 4-1 win against Gabon looks comfortable. On the pitch and behind the scenes, it has been messy, emotional and very Nigerian.

A bonus dispute saw the Super Eagles boycott training, a familiar storyline that had fans rolling their eyes in exasperation. For most teams, missing a crucial training session before a knockout game would spell disaster. For Nigeria, it almost seems to be part of the script.

Once the whistle went, they flicked a switch. Akor Adams capitalised on a defensive blunder to give Nigeria the lead late in normal time. Gabon dragged the tie into extra time with a deflected strike from Mario Lemina, and nerves spiked again.

Then came the Victor Osimhen show. The Galatasaray striker did what he does best and netted two goals in stoppage time which secured Nigeria’s place in the playoffs.

DR Congo’s Grit And The Weight Of History

Source: CAF_Online on X

Standing between Nigeria and the intercontinental playoffs are DR Congo, who beat Cameroon 1-0 to keep their own World Cup dream alive.

For Congolese fans, this is about more than football. The Leopards carry the pride of a nation that has long used sport as one of the few spaces of collective joy amid political and economic turbulence. A win over Cameroon, one of Africa’s traditional giants, brought noisy celebrations in Kinshasa and among diaspora communities around the world.

Asia, South America And Oceania: Quietly Getting The Job Done

While Europe and Africa provide most of the drama right now, other regions have already wrapped up the bulk of their business.

In Asia, the route has been long and complicated, with multiple group stages and playoff rounds. The eight automatic qualifiers are already known: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Qatar and Saudi Arabia grabbed the final two spots via a late qualifying round, while the United Arab Emirates and Iraq will duel over two legs for Asia’s place in the intercontinental playoffs.

In South America, the story is more straightforward. All ten nations play each other home and away. The top six are in. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay did what they needed to do. Seventh-placed Bolivia will head to the playoffs, trying to shock the world against opponents from other continents.

In Oceania, New Zealand once again proved they are the regional powerhouse, sweeping through a final four tournament to secure their automatic place. New Caledonia, beaten in the final, will join the playoff queue in March.

The Final Gate: Intercontinental Playoffs

When the dust settles on regional qualifiers, the last two tickets to the 2026 World Cup will be decided in a six-team playoff held in one of the host nations as a test event.

The lineup will look something like this:

Africa: Nigeria or DR Congo
Asia: UAE or Iraq
South America: Bolivia
Oceania: New Caledonia
North and Central America: two teams from the Concacaf final round

The two highest ranked nations will be seeded and placed directly into the playoff finals. The other four will contest semifinals for the right to face them.

It is football’s version of a long haul flight with multiple stopovers. You are exhausted, you would love to already be at your destination, but you still have to survive one last connection.

The Road To 2026: More Places, Same Emotion

The 2026 World Cup is meant to be the most inclusive edition ever. More teams, more games, more flags, more anthems.

Yet as qualification enters its final stretch, it becomes clear that even in an expanded tournament, the core emotional ingredients have not changed. Italian fans are watching through their fingers as another playoff looms. Nigerians are placing their faith in Victor Osimhen’s boots and in a defence that has rediscovered its bite. DR Congo are daring to believe. San Marino are doing complicated maths and dreaming the impossible dream.

From Chișinău to Rabat, from Kingston to Lagos, the journey to North America is turning into exactly what football does best: a mix of hope, heartbreak, chaos and unexpected heroes.

The list of 2026 World Cup qualifiers is already glittering. The names still to be written on that list will carry some of the best stories.

Source: ESPN Africa
Featured Image Source: Equipe de France on X