World Cup 2026: Who has qualified and when is the draw? Full list of teams for USA, Canada and Mexico

Forty-two teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup so far, with six more places up for grabs at next summer's 48-team tournament.

Among those to have booked their place already are Curacao, with the Caribbean island becoming the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup.

Curacao will join holders Argentina and home nations England and Scotland at the tournament, which is taking place across three host nations - Canada, Mexico and USA - from June 11 to July 19.

• N Ireland, Rep Ireland, Wales await World Cup play-offs - so how do they work?
• World Cup schedule, dates and venues
• World Cup qualifying fixtures and results

It will be the biggest yet, with 48 nations taking part - 16 more than in Qatar 2022. Here are the countries that have qualified so far for the tournament...

Who else can qualify?

There are six spots still to be decided, and four of those will be taken by European teams via UEFA's play-offs.

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Wales are all in the running to qualify via this route in March - more on that to come below.

The other two remaining places at the World Cup will be taken by teams from the other confederations with Iraq, DR Congo, Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname battling for the chance to qualify via the two inter-confederation paths.

Who plays who in the play-offs?

Wales host Bosnia and Herzegovina while Republic of Ireland travel to Czech Republic hoping to keep their World Cup hopes alive in the European play-offs. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, travel to Italy in the semi-finals.

• How the European play-off draw worked

As Wales and Northern Ireland were drawn in the same path, the two nations could meet in a potential play-off final, hosted by the Red Dragons. Should Republic of Ireland win their semi-final they will have home advantage in the final against Denmark or North Macedonia.

The one-legged semi-finals will take place on Thursday, March 26 at 5pm or 7.45pm, and the finals on Tuesday March 31 with kick-off times of 5pm or 7.45pm.

World Cup qualifying play-off draw in full

Play-off Path A:
Semi-final: Italy vs Northern Ireland
Semi-final: Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Final: Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy/Northern Ireland

Play-off Path B:
Semi-final: Ukraine vs Sweden
Semi-final: Poland vs Albania
Final: Ukraine/Sweden vs Poland/Albania

Play-off Path C:
Semi-final: Turkey vs Romania
Semi-final: Slovakia vs Kosovo
Final: Slovakia/Kosovo vs Turkey/Romania

Play-off Path D:
Semi-final: Denmark vs North Macedonia
Semi-final: Czech Republic vs Republic of Ireland
Final: Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland vs Denmark/North Macedonia

Inter-confederation play-offs draw in full

Play-off Path A:
Semi-final: New Caledonia vs Jamaica
Final: New Caledonia/Jamaica vs Congo

Play-off Path B:
Semi-final: Bolivia vs Suriname
Final: Bolivia/Suriname vs Iraq

When is the 2026 World Cup draw?

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on December 5 at 5pm UK and Ireland time (12pm local time).

US President Donald Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the John F Kennedy Center - a performing arts venue where Trump is chairman - to decide the group stage fixtures.

Announcing the draw venue at the White House in August, Trump said the World Cup was "the biggest event in sports", while Infantino declared the 104 matches would be like "104 Super Bowls".

World Cup 2026 match schedule

The full fixture list with group games and kick-off times will be available after the draw, but FIFA has already announced key dates and confirmed that the opening match will be held in Mexico City.

The final will take place at the New York-New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium - home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.

Group stage: June 11-27

Round of 32: June 28 to July 3

Round of 16: July 4-7

Quarter-finals: July 9-11

Semi-finals: July 14-15

Third-place play-off ('Bronze final'): July 18

Final: July 19

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