World Cup 2026 Intercontinental Playoff: Results & Qualifiers
DR Congo and Iraq won the last two places at the 2026 FIFA World Cup through the six-team intercontinental play-off tournament in Mexico, held on 26 and 31 March 2026.
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OFC World Cup 2026 Qualifying: Oceania's Path to the Finals
How New Zealand became Oceania's sole qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the first time OFC had a guaranteed direct berth, and the first time the confederation champion did not need to survive an intercontinental play-off.
AFC World Cup 2026 Qualifying: Asia's 9 Qualified Nations
How the nine Asian nations qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through AFC qualifying, including first-time qualifiers Jordan and Uzbekistan and Iraq's dramatic intercontinental play-off win.
CAF World Cup 2026 Qualifying: Africa's 10 Qualified Nations
How the ten African nations qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through CAF qualifying groups and play-offs, including DR Congo's dramatic route through the intercontinental tournament.
CONCACAF World Cup 2026 Qualifying: 6 Nations Plus 3 Hosts
How the six Concacaf nations — the United States, Mexico, Canada, Panama, Haiti and Curaçao — qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including three automatic host places and three earned through qualifying.
CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 Qualifying: South America's 6 Qualifiers
How the six South American nations — Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay — qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through the CONMEBOL round-robin league, and which teams missed out.
UEFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying: The 16 European Nations
All 16 European nations that qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through UEFA qualifying groups and March play-offs, including the teams that missed out — most notably Italy, for the third tournament in a row.
World Cup 2026 Debutants: First-Time Qualifiers in the 48-Team Era
Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will all play at a men's World Cup for the first time in 2026. Here is how each nation got there.
Who Didn’t Qualify for World Cup 2026: The Biggest Absences
Italy, Nigeria, Cameroon, Poland and Chile are the biggest names missing from the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite the tournament expanding to 48 teams.
How World Cup 2026 Qualification Worked: Format, Slots & Playoffs Explained
World Cup 2026 qualifying used six regional systems, 46 direct berths and a six-team play-off tournament in Mexico. Here is how the format worked.
World Cup 2026 Qualified Teams: The Full 48-Nation Field
The 48-team field is complete after DR Congo and Iraq took the last two places on 31 March 2026. Here is every qualified nation, by confederation.