The 48 teams for the World Cup are all confirmed! Iraq qualifies, with 9 Asian teams participating. The group stage results are officially announced.

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On April 1, Beijing time, all the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup were completed. With Iraq’s final qualification, all 48 teams for the World Cup finals have been confirmed, and the group stage draw has also been officially announced.

Today’s European playoff final saw Bosnia defeat Italy on penalties 5-2, eliminating the latter and causing them to miss the World Cup for three consecutive tournaments; Sweden beat Poland 3-2 in a last-minute victory, Turkey narrowly defeated Kosovo 1-0, and Czech Republic won on penalties 5-3 against Denmark, with four teams qualifying for the World Cup finals.

In the intercontinental playoff final, the Democratic Republic of the Congo defeated Jamaica 1-0 in extra time, returning to the World Cup after 52 years and adding one more African team to the tournament. Iraq beat Bolivia 2-1, returning to the World Cup after 40 years. As a result, Asia now has 9 teams participating in the World Cup, setting a new record.

Thus, all 48 spots for the World Cup are now confirmed. Based on regions, the specific participating teams are as follows:

Europe: 16 spots

Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Portugal, England, Croatia, Switzerland, Austria, Scotland, Norway, Bosnia, Sweden, Turkey, Czech Republic

South America: 6 spots

Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay

Asia: 9 spots

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

Africa: 10 spots

Morocco, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo

North and Central America: 3 spots

Haiti, Curaçao, Panama

Oceania: 1 spot

New Zealand

Host countries: 3 spots

United States, Canada, Mexico

The official groupings for the 2026 World Cup are as follows:

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic

Group B: Canada, Bosnia, Qatar, Switzerland

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland

Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey

Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay

Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway

Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan

Group K: Portugal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

The 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup will feature 48 teams for the first time, divided into 12 groups of 4 teams each. The top 2 from each group plus the 8 best third-placed teams will advance to the knockout stage, starting from the Round of 32.

The opening match of the World Cup will be at 3 a.m. Beijing time on June 12, with host Mexico facing South Africa. The final will be held at 3 a.m. Beijing time on July 20.