The long qualifying cycle is now over, and we finally know all 48 teams that will be playing in this year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
The qualifiers' playoff matches brought so much excitement, and maybe a few surprises to someone, but every team that qualified deserved its spot in the greatest football event in the world.
Italy Missing Another World Cup
The playoff finals on 31 March decided the final four teams from Europe that qualified for the tournament, and the biggest surprise for many is Bosnia and Herzegovina. After eliminating Wales in the semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out, they did the same with Italy.
That means that Italy won’t be playing yet another World Cup after missing the previous two events in Russia and Qatar.
Sweden is also through after beating Poland 3-2 with a late goal by Viktor Gyökeres. Türkiye managed to eliminate Kosovo with a 1-0 away victory, repeating the score from the semis when they won 1-0 at home against Romania.
Czechia secured its place in the 2026 World Cup by winning a penalty shoot-out against Denmark after the result was 2-2 after overtime.
When we look at the rest of the world, Iraq defeated Bolivia to make it to the group stage, and DR Congo eliminated Jamaica.
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A Look at the World Cup Groups
With a little over two months left before the tournament begins, the groups are now finally complete, and so are the upcoming World Cup fixtures for the group stage.
Group A
- Mexico
- South Africa
- Korea Republic
- Czechia
Group B
- Canada
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Qatar
- Switzerland
Group C
- Brazil
- Morocco
- Haiti
- Scotland
Group D
- USA
- Paraguay
- Australia
- Türkiye
Group E
- Germany
- Curaçao
- Côte D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Ecuador
Group F
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Sweden
- Tunisia
Group G
- Belgium
- Egypt
- Iran
- New Zealand
Group H
- Spain
- Cabo Verde
- Saudi Arabia
- Uruguay
Group I
- France
- Senegal
- Iraq
- Norway
Group J
- Argentina
- Algeria
- Austria
- Jordan
Group K
- Portugal
- DR Congo
- Uzbekistan
- Colombia
Group L
- England
- Croatia
- Ghana
- Panama
We expect some great matches during the group stage and even more excitement once the knockout stage begins. And now is the time for newly qualified teams’ fans to celebrate and potentially purchase their tickets for the largest World Cup in history.
