2026 World Cup: 28 Countries That Have Qualified As Nigeria Books Playoff Spot
- 28 countries have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be played in the United States, Canada, and Mexico
- The qualifiers across continents have been concluded, with some others to be finalised during the November break
- The playoff spots are also taking shape, with the Super Eagles of Nigeria qualifying for that path on the final day
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be played in the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada, is taking shape with 28 countries already qualified.
Africa (9), South America (6), Asia (8), and Oceania (1) have concluded their qualifying series and confirmed their automatic participants and playoff spots.
Source: Getty Images
Europe and North America are still in their qualifiers, with only England from UEFA and the three hosts from CONCACAF being the only teams that have qualified.
Legit.ng looks at the 28 countries that have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the October international break.
Teams that have qualified for 2026 World Cup
Tunisia, Morocco lead Africa's participants
The CAF qualifying series for the World Cup was concluded on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, when all nine participants were confirmed.
Algeria, debutant Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and Morocco, which reached the semi-final in Qatar, will represent Africa at the tournament.
As confirmed by FIFA, the continent is in contention for one more slot via the intercontinental playoffs, where one of Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, or DR Congo will represent Africa.
New Zealand makes Oceania history
According to Sky Sports, FIFA has allotted an automatic qualification slot for Oceania for the first time in history after expanding the tournament to 48 teams.
New Zealand picked up the automatic ticket after beating New Caledonia in the third round playoff, while the French territory will compete in the intercontinental playoffs.
Defending champions Argentina leads South America
South American teams retained their qualifier style, where all 16 countries play each other home and away in the same group, with the top six teams qualifying and the seventh heading for the intercontinental playoffs.
Defending champions Argentina topped the group and are joined by Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay, while Bolivia has a chance through the intercontinental playoffs.
Jordan made history in Asia
Jordan qualified for the World Cup for the first time as part of Asia's eight-team contingents, which include Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will face off to decide who will represent the continent in the intercontinental playoffs for a possible extra slot.
US, Mexico, and Canada earn free slots
Host countries, the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico, earned automatic slots as hosting, half of what is allotted to CONCACAF.
Source: Getty Images
Three countries will qualify automatically, while the confederation has two intercontinental playoff spots, which could potentially take their tally to eight at the tournament.
England becomes Europe’s first qualified team
The England national team, led by former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, became the first European team to qualify for the World Cup after beating Latvia 3-0.
11 more teams will join them as group winners, while four other teams will emerge from the UEFA playoffs to complete their 16 participants.
Nigeria’s playoff opponent confirmed
Legit.ng reported that Nigeria will face Gabon in the CAF mini-playoff tournament for the World Cup intercontinental playoffs after their 4-0 win over Benin Republic.
Nigeria displaced Burkina Faso on the playoffs table on goal difference and set up a date against Gabon, with the winner of Cameroon vs DR Congo next if they win.
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Source: Legit.ng
