The 2026 World Cup will make history based on the number of teams participating.
In recent World Cups, the competition has featured 32 nations, with eight groups of four. However, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar marked the last tournament with that format.
This summer, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will have multiple teams participating from many parts of the world, including nations making their debut.
How Many Teams Are in the World Cup?
The 2026 World Cup, which begins on June 11, will have 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four. There will still be a group stage like previous World Cups, with teams that finish first and second qualifying for the knockout stage.
Teams that finish last (fourth) in their group will be eliminated, and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Below is the guaranteed number of teams from each confederation/continent participating in the 2026 World Cup:
- AFC (Asia) - 8 teams
- CAF (Africa) - 9 teams
- CONCACAF (North America) - 6 teams
- CONMEBOL (South America) - 6 teams
- OFC (Oceania) - 1 team
- UEFA (Europe) - 16 teams
These are 46 direct spots across six confederations around the world. The other two spots are competed across the six teams from six different confederations in the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
In March, the extra two spots were decided in the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
Before March, only 12 European nations qualified for the World Cup, and the last four spots for UEFA were competed for between 16 teams, who were divided into four "paths" of four teams.
Which Countries Are in the 2026 World Cup?
Photo by Jia Haocheng - Pool/Getty Images
Apart from the host nations -- the United States, Canada, and Mexico -- all teams that qualified for the 2026 World Cup went through their respective World Cup qualifiers in their respective confederation.
Below are the countries that qualified directly to the 2026 World Cup last year and have not needed a playoff:
- AFC (Asia): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
- CAF (Africa): Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
- CONCACAF (North America): USA, Mexico, Canada, Curacao, Haiti, Panama
- CONMEBOL (South America): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay
- OFC (Oceania): New Zealand
- UEFA (Europe): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland
MORE: Which Country Has Won the Most World Cups?
Teams That Qualified Through Playoffs
March saw six teams qualify for the 2026 World Cup through the UEFA World Cup qualifiers playoffs and the FIFA Interconfederation playoffs.
Sixteen (16) European nations played in the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs in March. Those teams were divided into paths, which include four teams that play a semifinal and a final.
Only one team from each path qualifies directly to the 2026 World Cup to complete the 16 European spots and join the other 12 European nations that qualified for the World Cup.
*Teams in bold won the match
- Path A: Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Italy vs. Northern Ireland: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Italy = Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for the 2026 World Cup
- Path B: Ukraine vs. Sweden - Poland vs. Albania: Sweden vs. Poland = Swedenqualified for the 2026 World Cup
- Path C: Slovakia vs. Kosovo - Turkey vs. Romania: Kosovo vs. Turkey = Turkey qualified for the 2026 World Cup
- Path D: Czech Republic vs. Ireland - Denmark vs. North Macedonia: Czech Republic vs. Denmark = Czech Republicqualified for the 2026 World Cup
For the FIFA Interconfederation playoffs, six teams from five confederations fought for the last two direct spots for the 2026 World Cup.
These teams reached this stage due to their position in their respective confederations, which had a playoff spot. The six teams were divided into two paths, Path 1 and Path 2, with the top two FIFA-ranked teams directly in the playoff final.
The six teams were DR Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, Bolivia, Suriname, and New Caledonia. DR Congo and Iraq were the two best FIFA-ranked teams of the six teams, which saw them directly in the playoff final. The other four teams played a playoff semifinal.
*Teams in bold won the match
- Path 1: Jamaica vs. New Caledonia: DR Congo vs. Jamaica = DR Congoqualified for the 2026 World Cup
- Path 2: Suriname vs. Bolivia: Iraq vs. Bolivia = Iraqqualified for the 2026 World Cup
