FIFA World Cup 2026: Global Qualification Nears Completion Amid Expanded Tournament Format

After a historic qualifying campaign for Euro 2024, Luxembourg's national football team endured one of its most challenging modern-era series of performances in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, finishing without a single point and now preparing to watch next summer's tournament, hosted across Canada, Mexico and the United States, exclusively from the sidelines as spectators of the first-ever 48-team World Cup. 

Under recently-appointed head coach Jeff Strasser, who replaced longtime manager Luc Holtz shortly before the start of the campaign, Luxembourg finished bottom of a group featuring Germany, Slovakia and Northern Ireland, losing all of their matches. As a result, the Red Lions will follow the European play-offs, which include Slovakia as group runners-up and Northern Ireland via the UEFA Nations League pathway, and the wider World Cup narrative, from television screens. And there will be plenty to follow: for the first time in history, the World Cup will feature 48 participating nations, expanding from the 32-team format used at the previous seven editions. 

Europe's Play-Off Drama: Four Places Still Up for Grabs 

To determine Europe's remaining four qualifiers, UEFA has organised a four-path playoff system, each containing four national teams. Semi-finals will be played on 26 March 2026, followed by the decisive finals five days later, with only each path winner advancing to the tournament in North America. 

Path A brings together Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland, a bracket notable for Italy's presence as they attempt to return to the World Cup after missing out in 2022. 

Path B features Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania, arguably the most competitive group given the recent pedigree of all four. 

Path C includes Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo, offering each nation a realistic prospect of qualification. 

Path D sees Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia and the Republic of Ireland contest the final available European berth. 

The four winners will join the already qualified European teams: Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, England, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark and Switzerland.

Global Qualification: Historic Firsts Across the Continents 

Outside Europe, qualification has already produced several notable storylines.

South America has confirmed all six of its representatives: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. 

Asia will send eight teams, including debutants Jordan and Uzbekistan, alongside Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Qatar. 

Africa has filled all nine available slots, with Cape Verde (population of just 530,000, smaller than Luxembourg) and South Africa among the standout qualifiers, joining Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. 

In Oceania, New Zealand secured the region's single berth. 

North America, Central America and the Caribbean will send Panama, Curaçao and Haiti. The tiny Caribbean island of Curaçao has become the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup (population of just 160,000), despite their coach Dutch veteran Dick Advocaat, who brings major tournament experience, missing the last game. 

The final two World Cup spots will be determined in the inter-confederation play-offs (23-31 March 2026): 

• New Caledonia vs Jamaica - winner faces DR Congo 
• Bolivia vs Suriname - winner faces Iraq 

42 Teams Confirmed Ahead of the Final Draw 

With Canada, Mexico and the United States already qualified as hosts, the total number of confirmed teams now stands at 42. The remaining six will emerge from the European and inter-confederation play-offs. 

The final draw will be held on Friday 5 December 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The provisional pots are as follows: 

• Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany; 
• Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia; 
• Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa; 
• Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA Play-off winners (A-D), Inter-confederation Play-off winners 1 and 2.

Twelve groups of four will be formed by selecting one team from each pot. Teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn together, with the exception of UEFA nations, which must number between one and two per group. 

Expanded Format: More Matches, More Opportunities 

The total number of matches at the 2026 World Cup will rise from 64 to 104, with teams reaching the final four now playing eight games instead of seven. The tournament will run for 39 days, extending beyond the 32-day span seen at previous editions - an adjustment reflecting the scale of the expanded format. 

With a greater number of berths available, the new system increases opportunities for mid-tier and emerging national teams who previously faced extremely narrow qualification pathways. Supporters argue that the expansion fosters broader global representation and competitive diversity, while critics warn that the larger structure may dilute group-stage quality and heighten concerns about player workload and scheduling congestion. 

A Three-Nation World Cup: Host Cities and Key Dates 

For the first time in the event's history, the World Cup will be hosted by three nations: the United States, Canada and Mexico. The opening match will take place on Thursday 11 June 2026, with Mexico set to play at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

US venues include New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area and Kansas City; while US President Trump has recently threatened to strip some cities from hosting matches, this is unlikely to happen as FIFA has already confirmed them. Canada will host matches in Toronto and Vancouver, while Mexico's fixtures will be played in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. 

The tournament will conclude on Sunday 19 July 2026, with the final held at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey. 

Although UEFA remains one of the most competitive regions in world football, the expanded format undeniably improves long-term prospects for nations like Luxembourg. With more qualification slots and additional pathways, the structural barriers that have historically limited access for smaller footballing nations are gradually receding. The Red Lions will not be present in 2026, but the evolving qualification landscape may offer a more realistic opportunity in future World Cup cycles.