The 2026 World Cup has 48 teams, up from 32. Each confederation got more spots than before. Two additional places were decided through inter-confederation playoffs involving runners-up from different regions.
UEFA qualified 16 teams, more than any other confederation. Qualifying ran through the Nations League rather than a separate campaign. Some teams got in by winning their Nations League group outright. Others had to go through playoff rounds, seeded by their Nations League results. Eight playoff places were available for teams that did not qualify automatically.
CONMEBOL used a simple round-robin. All 10 South American teams played each other home and away, 18 matchdays total. The top six qualify. Seventh goes into the inter-confederation playoff.
Africa had 54 teams competing for nine direct spots, plus one more via the inter-confederation playoff. Qualifying ran through group stages, then two-legged playoffs between group winners and runners-up.
Asia got eight direct spots and one inter-confederation playoff place. The final round put 18 teams into three groups of six. The top two from each group qualified automatically. Third and fourth-placed teams went into further playoffs before the final spots were decided.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico qualified as hosts, which removed three CONCACAF members from the contest. The remaining CONCACAF places went through a Nations League-based qualifying system and a final round.
Oceania had one spot, decided through a playoff. The OFC qualifying winner then entered the inter-confederation playoff against runners-up from other confederations, competing for two of the last places in the field.