Which nation could be next to qualify for World Cup 26?

2025-09-16
FIFA

A total of 18 teams have now qualified for the FIFA World Cup 26™.

With qualifying action continuing across the world, FIFA looks at the teams closest to adding their names to the list of participants.

Africa: Who will join Morocco and Tunisia?

In the CAF region, where Morocco have led the way and Tunisia also punched their ticket, October could bring celebrations in a host of other nations.

Follow the World Cup CAF qualifiers

Algeria will guarantee their place on Matchday 9 if:

  • They beat Somalia.

  • They draw vs Somalia, and Uganda and Mozambique both fail to win.

  • Uganda and Mozambique both lose.

Cabo Verde will clinch qualification if:

  • They beat Libya.

  • They draw vs Libya, and Cameroon fail to defeat Mauritius

Côte d’Ivoire will seal their place if:

  • They beat Seychelles, and Gabon lose to The Gambia.

Egypt will qualify if:

  • They beat Djibouti.

  • Burkina Faso fail to defeat Sierra Leone.

Ghana will clinch qualification if:

  • They beat Central African Republic, and Madagascar fail to defeat Comoros.

Senegal will seal their spot if:

  • They beat South Sudan, and Congo DR fail to defeat Togo

South Africa will qualify on Matchday 9 if:

  • They beat Zimbabwe, and Benin fail to defeat Rwanda.

  • They draw vs Zimbabwe, and Benin lose to Rwanda.

Group A
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Egypt
 8 6 2 0 16 2 14 20
2
Burkina Faso
 8 4 3 1 19 7 12 15
3
Sierra Leone
 8 3 3 2 10 8 2 12
4
Guinea-Bissau
 8 2 4 2 8 8 0 10
5
Ethiopia
 8 1 3 4 7 11 -4 6
6
Djibouti
 8 0 1 7 4 28 -24 1
Group B
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Senegal
 8 5 3 0 13 3 10 18
2
Congo DR
 8 5 1 2 13 6 7 16
3
Sudan
 8 3 3 2 8 5 3 12
4
Togo
 8 1 4 3 5 9 -4 7
5
Mauritania
 8 1 3 4 4 9 -5 6
6
South Sudan
 8 0 4 4 3 14 -11 4
Group C
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
South Africa
 8 5 2 1 14 6 8 17
2
Benin
 8 4 2 2 11 7 4 14
3
Nigeria
 8 2 5 1 9 7 2 11
4
Rwanda
 8 3 2 3 5 5 0 11
5
Lesotho
 8 1 3 4 4 12 -8 6
6
Zimbabwe
 8 0 4 4 5 11 -6 4
Group D
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Cabo Verde
 8 6 1 1 10 5 5 19
2
Cameroon
 8 4 3 1 15 5 10 15
3
Libya
 8 4 2 2 9 7 2 14
4
Angola
 8 2 4 2 7 6 1 10
5
Mauritius
 8 1 2 5 7 15 -8 5
6
Eswatini
 8 0 2 6 4 14 -10 2
Group E
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Morocco
 7 7 0 0 21 2 19 21
2
Tanzania
 7 3 1 3 6 6 0 10
3
Niger
 6 3 0 3 7 9 -2 9
4
Zambia
 6 2 0 4 9 9 0 6
5
Congo
 6 0 1 5 3 20 -17 1
-
-
6
Eritrea
 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
-
-
-
-
-
Group F
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Côte d'Ivoire
 8 6 2 0 15 0 15 20
2
Gabon
 8 6 1 1 16 6 10 19
3
The Gambia
 8 3 1 4 17 14 3 10
4
Burundi
 8 3 1 4 13 10 3 10
5
Kenya
 8 2 3 3 17 11 6 9
6
Seychelles
 8 0 0 8 2 39 -37 0
Group G
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Algeria
 8 6 1 1 19 7 12 19
2
Uganda
 8 5 0 3 12 7 5 15
3
Mozambique
 8 5 0 3 12 15 -3 15
4
Guinea
 8 3 2 3 7 5 2 11
5
Botswana
 8 3 0 5 10 13 -3 9
6
Somalia
 8 0 1 7 3 16 -13 1
Group H
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Tunisia
 8 7 1 0 13 0 13 22
2
Namibia
 8 4 3 1 12 4 8 15
3
Liberia
 8 3 2 3 9 9 0 11
4
Malawi
 8 3 1 4 8 9 -1 10
5
Equatorial Guinea
 8 3 1 4 7 11 -4 10
6
São Tomé and Príncipe
 8 0 0 8 4 20 -16 0
Group I
 P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
1
Ghana
 8 6 1 1 17 6 11 19
2
Madagascar
 8 5 1 2 14 7 7 16
3
Comoros
 8 5 0 3 11 10 1 15
4
Mali
 8 3 3 2 11 5 6 12
5
Central African Republic
 8 1 2 5 8 17 -9 5
6
Chad
 8 0 1 7 3 19 -16 1

Europe: Giants closing in as Norway eye return

October seems likely to bring the first qualifiers from UEFA's preliminary competition, although each of the hopefuls requires a combination of results to confirm their participation.

UEFA group standings

Croatia will clinch qualification on 12 October if:

  • They beat Czechia and Gibraltar, and Czechia fail to defeat Faroe Islands.

  • They beat Czechia and draw vs Gibraltar, and Czechia lose to Faroe Islands.

France will seal a World Cup return on 13 October if:

  • They beat Azerbaijan and Iceland, and Iceland draw vs Ukraine.

  • They beat Azerbaijan and Iceland, Iceland lose to Ukraine, and Ukraine fail to defeat Azerbaijan.

Slovakia will qualify on 13 October if:

  • They beat Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, Germany fail to defeat Luxembourg, and Northern Ireland vs Germany is a draw.

Switzerland will seal their spot on 13 October if:

  • They beat Sweden and Slovenia, and Kosovo fail to win either of their games vs Slovenia and Sweden.

England will clinch qualification on 14 October if:

  • They beat Latvia, and Serbia do not win both of their games vs Albania and Andorra.

  • They draw vs Latvia, Serbia draw with Albania then fail to defeat Andorra.

Norway will secure their long-awaited World Cup return on 14 October if:

  • They beat Israel, and Italy fail to win either of their two games vs Estonia and Israel.

Portugal will clinch qualification on 14 October if:

  • They beat Republic of Ireland and Hungary, and Armenia fail to win either of their games vs Hungary and Republic of Ireland.

Spain will clinch qualification on 14 October if:

  • They beat Georgia and Bulgaria, Türkiye fail to defeat Bulgaria, and Türkiye vs Georgia is a draw.

North America, Central America and the Caribbean: Duo in focus

October could also bring the first qualifiers from the Concacaf Zone, with two of the confederation's heavyweights in with a chance of securing their spots.

Honduras will clinch qualification on 14 October if:

  • They beat Costa Rica and Haiti, and Nicaragua vs Haiti and Costa Rica vs Nicaragua are both draws.

Jamaica will seal their place on 14 October if:

  • They beat Curação and Bermuda, Curaçao fail to defeat Trinidad and Tobago, and Trinidad and Tobago do not win both of their games vs Bermuda and Curaçao.

Asia: Six remain in the hunt

With Australia sealing their spot on the final day of third-round action, all eyes now turn to October and the fourth round of AFC qualifying.

This consists of the six sides that finished third and fourth respectively across the third-round groups: Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. They have been drawn into two groups of three, with the winners of these groups qualifying for the finals.

Finally, the fifth round will pit together the two sides which finished as runners-up in the fourth-round group in a two-legged contest. The winner of these meetings will advance to the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

Oceania

While they were beaten by New Zealand in the OFC qualifying final, New Caledonia still have a chance to reach the World Cup. They will compete in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

South America

With all six of CONMEBOL's automatic berths now having been claimed, Bolivia will hope to become the seventh when they join New Caledonia and four other hopefuls in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

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