The World Cup Roster is Nearly Finished. Who Gets the Last Spots?

34 teams have qualified for the World Cup, and 14 more spots are up for grabs.

*Update: 42 teams have qualified, and 6 spots are up for grabs.

CONCACAF

The hosting countries, Mexico, USA, and Canada qualified for the World Cup at the start of the qualification process. The rest of the conference enters their third round of qualifying with 4 spots up for grabs. In Group A, Suriname and Panama have taken the lead. A lot is on the line as Panama only holds a 1-goal lead to qualify for the Interconference Playoffs, and is set to play last-place El Salvador after not yet losing a game. Suriname has also yet to lose a game; however, they need to play the more competitive Guatemala, and this race could go down to the wire as Suriname's first-ever World Cup is on the line. Moving to Group B, Curaçao leads the group with 11 points; however, they face 2nd place Jamaica in a game to decide who makes the World Cup. Jamaica would be making its first tournament since 1994, and Curaçao would be qualifying for its first-ever tournament. Finally, Group C has a tight 3-horse race for the final spot in qualification. Honduras currently ties for the lead with Haiti, and Costa Rica could leapfrog them both with a win. Honduras and Costa Rica will have a brutal fight for advancement, while Haiti contends with last-place Nicaragua to try and advance to the nation's first World Cup since 1974. There is still much to play for in CONCACAF.

*Update: Following the final week's fixtures, the countries advancing to the 2026 World Cup will be Panama, Curaçao, and Haiti. Jamaica and Suriname will advance to the brand new FIFA Intercontinental Playoff to try and vie for a spot in the grand tournament.

CONMEBOL

Down in CONMEBOL, Argentina, as the incumbent champions, were the first to qualify for the World Cup. Following them in the standings to qualify were Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay, who narrowly edged out Bolivia for the final assured spot in the World Cup. As Bolivia qualifies for the Intercontinental Playoff, they will try and make their first ever World Cup as CONMEBOL qualification is complete.

AFC

In the AFC, Japan became the first team to qualify for the World Cup with their Group C win. Within the same group, Australia would also qualify, finishing 2nd. South Korea and Jordan topped Group B for both teams to make the tournament, and Group A would be awarded to Iran and Uzbekistan. The fourth round would see two-winner-take-all matches between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Qatar and Saudi Arabia would punch their tickets into the World Cup, with a showdown between the United Arab Emirates and Iraq to determine who took the last spot in the conference. It would be a late penalty kick winner from Iraq that would qualify them for the Intercontinental Playoffs to try and ensure a spot in the North American Tournament.

OFC

With only one guaranteed seat in the World Cup, the OFC had a single-elimination tournament to decide their representative nation. New Zealand easily breezed through the competition en route to qualifying for the World Cup. 2nd place New Caledonia will try and become the smallest nation ever represented in the big tournament as they qualified for the Intercontinental Playoffs.

CAF

CAF qualifying featured 9 competitive groups with storylines galore. Morocco was the first nation to finalize their seat, followed swiftly by Tunisia and Egypt. Senegal took Group B, South Africa championed Group C, and Group D was won by Cape Verde, qualifying for their first-ever World Cup. Ivory Coast and Algeria would win the remaining two groups and win their spots in the tournament. The final slot in the Intercontinental Playoffs came down to a 4 team tournament, which saw the Democratic Republic of Congo finally deliver in a 4-3 penalty shootout over Nigeria. DR Congo will get the 1 seed for the playoff tournament, and will play the winner of Jamaica VS New Caledonia for a spot in the World Cup, while Iraq, as the 2 seed, will play the winner of Suriname VS Bolivia. All of this leaves Europe to decide who is sent to the global tournament.

UEFA

In UEFA, Norway was the story of the tournament as Erling Haaland netted a global leading 14 qualifying goals. Together with Austria and Scotland, Norwary is a part of the group winning trio all qualifying for their first World Cups since 1998. England was the first nation from the conference to qualify as they won Group K in October, almost a full month before any other European nation. France, Croatia, and Portugal were the next to clinch spots in the World Cup. Germany and Netherlands won their groups on the same day, followed swiftly by Belgium, Spain, and Switzerland. WIth 4 spots remaining, Europe has their own playoff tournament for the final spots in the World Cup. Path A sees an underwhelimng Italy (once again) facing off against Northern Ireland while Wales plays Bosnia and Herzegoza. The winners of both games will play for a seat at the World Cup. Path B has a young Ukraine matching against a past-prime Sweden while Poland plays Albania in the other semi-final. Path C has a strong Turkey squad playing Romania while Kosovo vies for their first World Cup against Slovakia. Lastly, Path D has Denmark facing North Macedonia, while an Irish team saved in the 90+5th minute from a Tony Parrot goal faces the Czech Republic. There is still much to play for in UEFA as the teams are set to qualify for the 2026 Tournament.