The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup will be the biggest yet.
Ninety-six years since the inaugural competition, won by hosts Uruguay in 1930, more teams than ever will participate in the tournament.
Canada, Mexico and the United States are sharing hosting duties, making this the first World Cup to be staged across three countries.
Here’s everything you need to know about a new era for world soccer’s flagship international tournament.
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How many teams are playing at 2026 World Cup?
There are 48 teams taking part at the 2026 World Cup.
There will be 16 representatives from UEFA (Europe), eight from the AFC (Asia), nine from CAF (Africa), six apiece from CONCACAF (North America) and CONMEBOL (South America) and one from OFC (Oceania), along with two further teams to be decided at the inter-confederation playoff in March 2026.
The final four UEFA qualifiers will also be decided in March via the European playoff paths.
At the finals, there will be 12 four-team groups, from which the top two and the eight best third-placed teams will progress to the round of 32.
List of nations at 2026 World Cup
| Nation | Confederation | Last World Cup appearance |
| Canada (host) | CONCACAF | 2022 |
| Mexico (host) | CONCACAF | 2022 |
| United States (host) | CONCACAF | 2022 |
| Curacao | CONCACAF | None (First appearance) |
| Haiti | CONCACAF | 1974 |
| Panama | CONCACAF | 2018 |
| Australia | AFC | 2022 |
| Iran | AFC | 2022 |
| Japan | AFC | 2022 |
| Jordan | AFC | None (First appearance) |
| Qatar | AFC | 2022 |
| Saudi Arabia | AFC | 2022 |
| South Korea | AFC | 2022 |
| Uzbekistan | AFC | None (First appearance) |
| Algeria | CAF | 2014 |
| Cape Verde | CAF | None (First appearance) |
| Egypt | CAF | 2018 |
| Ghana | CAF | 2022 |
| Ivory Coast | CAF | 2014 |
| Morocco | CAF | 2022 |
| Senegal | CAF | 2022 |
| South Africa | CAF | 2010 |
| Tunisia | CAF | 2022 |
| Argentina | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Brazil | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Colombia | CONMEBOL | 2018 |
| Ecuador | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Paraguay | CONMEBOL | 2010 |
| Uruguay | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| New Zealand | OFC | 2010 |
| Austria | UEFA | 1998 |
| Belgium | UEFA | 2022 |
| Croatia | UEFA | 2022 |
| England | UEFA | 2022 |
| France | UEFA | 2022 |
| Germany | UEFA | 2022 |
| Netherlands | UEFA | 2022 |
| Norway | UEFA | 1998 |
| Portugal | UEFA | 2022 |
| Scotland | UEFA | 1998 |
| Spain | UEFA | 2022 |
| Switzerland | UEFA | 2022 |
| Italy/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina/N. Ireland | UEFA Playoff Path A | |
| Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania | UEFA Playoff Path B | |
| Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo | UEFA Playoff Path C | |
| Denmark/N. Macedonia/Czechia/Rep. of Ireland | UEFA Playoff Path D | |
| D.R. Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia | Intercontinental Playoff Path A | |
| Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname | Intercontinental Playoff Path B |
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How many teams played at 2022 World Cup?
There were 32 teams at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where FIFA maintained the same format that had been in place since France ’98.
Across that span of seven tournaments, the nations that qualified were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams played each team in their group in a round-robin format, with the top in every section progressing to the round of 16, where the group winners were seeded and paired against runners-up from other groups.
Why did FIFA expand the World Cup field?
In January 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand the World Cup field to 48 teams. Because the 2018 and 2022 tournaments in Russia and Qatar were already set, this change was slated to come into effect from 2026.
A FIFA statement read: “The decision was taken following a thorough analysis, based on a report that included four different format options. The study took into account such factors as sporting balance, competition quality, impact on football development, infrastructure, projections on financial position and the consequences for event delivery.”
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