Starting from October, there will be 8.5 spots in the Asian region for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers
Just emerged from the passion of the 2023 Women's World Cup, fans will welcome the preliminary rounds of the 2026 Men's World Cup. On September 7th, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will kick off.
On September 7th, the South American qualifiers began first. Paraguay will host Peru at home, while defending champions Argentina will also face Ecuador in the capital. There are 6 direct promotion spots in the South American region and 1 playoff spot.
There are 8 direct promotion spots in the Asian region, and another qualification to participate in the playoffs. The Asian regional qualifiers will start in October this year. There are 9 direct promotion spots and one playoff spot in the African region, and the first round of matches starts in November.
Because the United States, Canada, and Mexico directly advance as hosts, the remaining teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean compete for three direct promotion spots and two playoff spots. The preliminary round will start in March next year.
One promotion spot and one playoff spot are available in Oceania, which is also the first time that Oceania can directly obtain tickets to the World Cup final stage through local competitions. The competition is tentatively scheduled for September next year.
There are 16 spots in the European region, but the qualifiers will start at the latest from March 2025.
According to the rules, one Asian team, one African team, one South American team, one Oceania team, and two North Central American and Caribbean teams will participate in the playoffs to compete for the last two qualifying spots.
For the first time, 48 teams will participate in the final stage of the 2026 World Cup.