2026 FIFA World Cup Qualified Nations Tracker
Image Credit: Fauzan Saari
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than eight months away, meaning that the tournament’s qualifiers are nearing their end. As of November 17, 2025, 32 nations have qualified for the final tournament, which will take place throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States in June and July 2026. Unlike previous editions, the 2026 tournament will include a record 48 participating nations, an increase from the 32 nations that participated in each World Cup edition from 1998 in France to 2022 in Qatar.
The Go-Ahead Goal will be actively producing 2026 FIFA World Cup content: from data analytics to insightful analysis; from match performances and records to intriguing trends and patterns.
Our first analysis comprises a collection of all nations that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup and their number of tournament appearances, from debutants to Brazil maintaining a perfect 23 World Cup tournament appearances.
Source: FIFA
Notes: For technical reasons, England is not included in the map. England has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be their 17th World Cup tournament appearance.
Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan will be making their respective World Cup tournament debuts.
Brazil is the only nation to have qualified and participated in each of the previous 22 World Cup tournaments; they will also participate in the 2026 World Cup.
There are two days remaining of international football matches in the November 2025 international window.
The March 2026 international window will comprise European playoffs and the Intercontinental playoffs, both of which are tournament-style formats with semifinal matches and a final match. The European playoffs will include four divisions of four clubs, whereas the Intercontinental playoffs will include two divisions of three nations, with the best-ranked nation from each division getting a bypass to the final.
Four European nations will qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the European playoffs, while two nations will qualify for the World Cup via the Intercontinental playoffs. That competition includes one nation (DR Congo) from Africa, one (TBD) from Asia, two (TBD) from North America, one (New Caledonia) from Oceania and one (Bolivia) from South America.
Regarding the remaining matches in the November window, stay tuned as we may witness the likes of Suriname and tiny Curaçao qualifying for their first respective appearances at the World Cup (prayers we did not just jinx this)!
