Algeria becomes the 20th team to qualify for the World Cup finals, with 28 tickets still up for grabs

In a match in Group G of the African Qualifiers for the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup, Algeria defeated Somalia 3-0 and secured first place in the group one round ahead of schedule. It became the fourth African team after Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, and the 20th team in the world to advance to the finals of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup. The expanded U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup finals has a total of 48 quotas. So far, 20 teams have entered it, and there are still 28 finals tickets to be competed for. Several new qualifying teams will be produced during the current round of national team competition days.

Let’s first take a look at the quota allocation plan for the 2026 United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup. The three teams of the United States, Canada and Mexico will automatically advance to the finals as hosts. The other 45 quotas are allocated as follows: 16 in Europe, 9 in Africa, 8 in Asia, 6 in South America, 3 in Central and North America, and 1 in Oceania, for a total of 43. The last two places will be competed by the six teams participating in the intercontinental play-offs. Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania each have one intercontinental play-off place, and Central and North America have two play-off places.

As of now, the South American World Cup qualifiers have all ended. Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay are the top six teams in the South American World Cup qualifying standings and will directly advance to the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup. Bolivia finished seventh and will participate in the World Cup intercontinental play-offs. Venezuela, Peru and Chile have already confirmed that they will miss the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Oceania's World Cup qualifiers have also ended. New Zealand defeated New Caledonia 3-0 in the final qualifiers and successfully advanced to the World Cup finals. New Caledonia will represent Oceania in the intercontinental play-offs.

Asia has produced six teams that have qualified for the World Cup, including Iran and Uzbekistan, the top two teams in Group A of the third stage, South Korea and Jordan, the top two teams in Group B, and Japan and Australia, the top two teams in Group C. In addition, six teams including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq and Oman have entered the fourth stage of the competition to compete for the last two direct promotion places and one intercontinental play-off place. Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates are in the same group, and Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia are in the same group. The three teams in each group will compete in a single round-robin match. The first place team in the two groups will directly advance to the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup finals. The second place team in the two groups will play two rounds of home and away play-offs. The winner will participate in the World Cup intercontinental play-offs. In the first round of the fourth group stage, Qatar drew with Oman 0-0 and Saudi Arabia defeated Indonesia 3-2. The second round will be played on October 12. After the third round on October 15, two other teams will be directly promoted.

The African qualifiers have entered the final stage. 54 teams are divided into 9 groups, with 6 teams in each group. They will conduct a double round-robin group stage. The first place in the 9 groups will directly advance to the World Cup, and the 4 second-placed teams with the best results will compete in the play-offs to compete for a spot in the intercontinental play-offs. At present, most groups have played 8-9 rounds of competition. Egypt in Group A, Morocco in Group E, Algeria in Group G and Tunisia in Group H have secured first place in the group 1-2 rounds ahead of schedule and are determined to advance to the main round of the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup. In other groups, after 8 rounds in Group B, Senegal has 18 points and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has 16 points; after 8 rounds in Group C, Benin and South Africa have 14 points and Nigeria has 11 points; after 9 rounds in Group D, Cape Verde has 20 points and Cameroon has 18 points; after 8 rounds in Group F, Ivory Coast has 20 points and Gabon has 19 points; after 9 rounds in Group I, Ghana has 22 points and Madagascar has 19 points. The African qualifying group stage will end on October 15, when all 9 direct promotion tickets will be determined.

The CONCACAF qualifiers have now entered the third stage. 12 teams are divided into 3 groups for a double round-robin competition. The top 3 teams will directly advance to the World Cup finals, and the 2 second-place teams with the best results will advance to the intercontinental play-offs. The four teams in Group A are Suriname, El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala. After two rounds, Suriname ranks first in the group with 4 points. The four teams in Group B are Jamaica, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda. After two rounds, Jamaica ranks first in the group with 6 points. The three teams in Group C are Haiti, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. After three rounds, Haiti and Honduras share 5 points. The CONCACAF qualifiers will not be completed until November.

Europe is the continent that has received the most tickets to the World Cup finals, but so far it has not produced any qualifying team. 54 European teams are divided into 12 groups, of which the first place in 12 groups directly advances to the World Cup, and the remaining 4 places will be determined by the European play-offs. After two rounds in Group A, Slovakia has 6 points and Germany has 3 points; after two rounds in Group B, Switzerland has 6 points and Sweden has 1 point; after 3 rounds in Group C, Denmark and Scotland have 7 points; after two rounds in Group D, France has 6 points and Iceland has 3 points; after two rounds in Group E, Spain has 6 points and Georgia and Türkiye have 3 points.

After two rounds in Group F, Portugal has 6 points and Armenia has 3 points; after 6 rounds in Group G, the Netherlands has 13 points, Poland and Finland have 10 points; after 6 rounds in Group H, Austria has 15 points and Bosnia and Herzegovina has 13 points; after 5 rounds in Group I, , Norway has 15 points, Italy and Israel have 9 points; after 5 rounds of Group J, North Macedonia has 11 points, Belgium and Wales have 10 points; after 5 rounds of Group K, England has 15 points, and Albania has 8 points; after 6 rounds of Group L, Croatia and the Czech Republic have 13 points. England could become the first European team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.

So, so far, the 20 teams that have been confirmed to qualify for the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup are the host United States, Canada and Mexico; Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia, Uzbekistan and Jordan in Asia; Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay in South America; Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in Africa; and New Zealand in Oceania.

Note: The picture comes from the Internet.