The 42 direct quotas for the World Cup are confirmed! Many giants are on the list + 4 new teams will be produced in the Italian play-offs

In the early morning of November 19th, the European World Cup preliminaries came to an end. Teams such as Spain and Belgium have all won the right to participate in the World Cup; 39 teams have been confirmed for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico; and on the morning of the 19th, with the confirmation of 3 promotion places in the North American division, 42 direct quotas have been confirmed; including 4 teams participating in the World Cup for the first time; and the remaining 6 quotas will be determined through play-offs.

The Asian and South American regions ended their World Cup preliminaries early, while the African region produced 12 qualifying places during the international match day last month; the European region also produced 12 qualifying places this week. These include England, France, Spain, Germany, and Portugal, many traditional teams; there are also teams such as Scotland, Austria, and Norway that have returned to the World Cup after many years. It is worth mentioning that the last time Scotland, Austria, and Norway participated in the World Cup was the 1998 World Cup in France.

On the morning of November 19, the final round of the North American Division kicked off; the three first-place teams in the group were Suriname, Curacao and Honduras. After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, Suriname lost 1:3 to Guatemala, which had already been eliminated, giving up the right to advance; Panama came from behind to take first place in the group. Curacao drew with Jamaica 0:0 and will participate in the World Cup for the first time; Honduras drew with Costa Rica, and Haiti, second in the group, 2:0 Nicaragua, overtaking Honduras; after 1974, it returned to the World Cup after 51 years.

In this way, all 42 direct quotas for the World Cup have been created.

2026 World Cup confirmed teams

Hosts: United States, Canada, Mexico

Asia: Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan

Africa: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Tunisia, South Africa, Cape Verde , Ghana

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay

North America: Panama, Curacao, Haiti

Europe: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Netherlands

Oceania: New Zealand

The countries in bold are the countries participating in the World Cup for the first time. Home team

The 2026 World Cup team has confirmed to participate in the play-offs

Asia: Iraq (Participating in the intercontinental play-offs)

Africa: Democratic Republic of the Congo (will participate in the intercontinental play-offs)

South America: Bolivia (will participate in the intercontinental play-offs)

Oceania: New Caledonia ( About to participate in the intercontinental play-offs)

Europe: Northern Ireland (UEFA direct pass), Sweden (UEFA Nations League direct pass), Romania (UEFA Nations League direct pass), North Macedonia (UEFA Nations League direct pass), Slovakia, Ukraine, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Wales, Italy, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Kosovo (second in the World Preliminary Group)