Brazil in, Palestine out: Who has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Five-time champions Brazil have confirmed their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup by defeating Paraguay 1-0, thanks to a goal by star forward Vinicius Jr in front of a jubilant home crowd in Sao Paulo.
Playing under new head coach Carlo Ancelotti, the Selecao went ahead at the stroke of half-time when the Real Madrid star found the net, much to the delight of the 46,000 fans at the Corinthians Arena on Tuesday.
In other major World Cup qualifying results, war-torn Palestine were left heartbroken when Oman drew level against them from a penalty converted deep into stoppage time in their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying match in Amman, Jordan.
Palestine have been playing their international fixtures at neutral venues, including Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Israel's war on Gaza, its control and destruction of sports facilities and venues in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have left the players unable to travel and play at their home venue, the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in ar-Ram, a town northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Needing a win to reach the fourth round of the AFC qualifiers, Palestine led the home side through Oday Kharoub's goal at the end of the first half.
The Al-Fidai seemed to have done enough until they conceded a penalty in the last moments of the match, and Essam al-Subhi's spot kick in the 97th minute ended the game in a draw, crushing the Palestinian dream of having another shot at qualification by proceeding to the fourth round.
Oman have now taken up that spot.
After the latest round of qualifying matches, here is a breakdown of the confirmed contenders from each of the six regions:
Africa: None of the 54 nations involved in the qualifiers has been able to confirm their spots as the first round of qualifying matches does not conclude until October 16.
Asia: Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Japan.
Europe: None. Similar to Africa, none of the 54 European teams vying for 16 qualification spots have confirmed their berths as their first-round matches will run until November 18.
North, Central American and Caribbean region: Canada, Mexico and USA. With the World Cup host nations taking three spots, only three are left up for grabs and will be decided on November 18.
Oceania: New Zealand. With one spot up for grabs and 11 nations fighting for it, New Zealand emerged victorious and took the spot by winning the third-round playoff final against New Caledonia on March 24.
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador.
Chile, third-place finishers in 1962, are among the biggest names confirmed out of the next World Cup.
While China are not considered among the football powerhouses in Asia, the nation's focus on building the game at home and seeing its team in another World Cup since 2002 was crushed on June 5.
Apart from the nine African and 16 European spots still fully up for grabs, the others that are still in the race for a World Cup spot are:
Asia: Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, and Oman are vying for the two direct qualification slots for the World Cup and one intercontinental playoffs spot.
South America: Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia will fight for the three remaining World Cup slots, while Peru can only advance to the intercontinental playoffs.
North, Central American and Caribbean region: Honduras, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Guatemala, Suriname and El Salvador have all advanced to the third round, from where three teams will directly qualify for the World Cup. The three second-placed teams from each group will then fight for the intercontinental playoffs spot.
Oceania: New Caledonia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.
As late as March 31, 2026. With the European qualification rounds stretching to March and the intercontinental playoff final also scheduled for the same month, we will not know our final 48 teams for the World Cup until less than three months ahead of the tournament.
The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11 and ends with the final in New Jersey on July 19.
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