The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be one of the most anticipated editions of the tournament in its history, especially here in the United States. The U.S. will host the World Cup for the first time since 1994, along with neighboring Canada and Mexico hosting games in their largest cities. 

The 2026 tournament will be the most expansive yet, with 48 total nations competing. The U.S., Canada and Mexico, as host nations, are automatically qualified, meaning 45 slots were up for grabs from countries across the world.  

So, before the group-stage pots are drawn on Dec. 5, let’s look back at the qualifiers to see what we missed from those who qualified and those who need a little bit more. 

Unsurprisingly, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has the most slots available at 16, and most of the heavy hitters such as Germany, France, Spain and England easily made it in after winning their respective groups. A few notable nations who will be competing in the playoffs in March 2026 include Italy, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland, with Irishman Troy Parrott standing out as one of Europe’s top players during their qualifiers, scoring five goals for Ireland in their qualifying group. 

Norway and Scotland were among the teams who came out as a surprise packages, with Manchester City forward Erling Haaland having the highest goal count of 16 –– double the most of any other player –– and Scotland secured qualification through a Scott McTominay overhead kick and a Kenny McLean half-field goal over Denmark.  

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) would have nine slots up for grabs across the continent, with each group being made up of six teams and four playoff spots available. Results in Africa were unexpected, such as Nigeria losing on penalties to DR Congo and Cape Verde escaping out of their group to qualify for their first World Cup. Top goal scorers included Algeria’s Mohamed El Amine Amoura and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah. 

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has three spots taken by the host nations. The three spots remaining in CONCACAF were taken by Panama, Haiti and Curacao, the latter becoming the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup, with manager Dick Advocaat also being the oldest manager to make the tournament at 78. Panama returns for the first time since 2018 and Haiti since 1974.  

Further south, the Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol (CONMEBOL) features a different qualification system, where the top six teams automatically qualified for the World Cup. Unsurprisingly, the group was topped by defending champions Argentina and Ecuador, with Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil surprisingly down in fifth.  

New Zealand is the only Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) representative in the tournament, taking the sole direct qualification spot. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) features eight qualifiers, with highlights including Qatar’s first appearance not as a host, as well as Jordan and Uzbekistan’s first appearances at all. 

Regarding which teams will be the most competitive in the tournament, let’s find out who looks to thrive on North American soil. 

Spain 

They seem to be the strongest team in Europe with the right balance and are the favorite to win the whole tournament, according to Opta.  

They are currently undefeated in their last 31 competitive games. With La Roja’s young core of Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Nico Williams, coach Luis de la Fuente looks to count on their dominant presence if they plan to triumph in another major tournament. 

Veteran Rodri excelled in the Euros, earning himself Player of the Tournament, and fellow midfielder Fabian Ruiz came off an impressive campaign. Spain and de la Fuente look to replicate the work that former manager Vicente del Bosque did in winning back-to-back major international competitions.   

Although challenges could come from Germany and a dark horse in Norway, expect the Spanish to be the highest-caliber European team come next summer. 

United States 

To be blunt about the U.S. Men’s National Team, they should be lucky that the World Cup is coming to their backyard because the team has been very unenthusiastic on the pitch for a while.  

Following Gregg Berhalter’s firing in September 2024, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) hired former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, and it seemed as though he could be turning the team around until an embarrassing 1-0 loss to Panama knocked the stars and stripes out of the CONCACAF Nations League in early 2025.  

Couple the lacking on-pitch with some fireworks off it, they are in a very weird spot that they desperately need to fix before hosting the big dance in 2026. Christian Pulisic’s amazing form in Serie A for AC Milan hasn’t translated amazingly from club to country, as is the case with many of his teammates, but changes must be made in order to be even as competitive as they were in Qatar. 

Cape Verde 

A good amount of the World Cup’s viewers in 2026 will have no idea where to place Cape Verde on a map.  

The small archipelago off the coast of Africa, however, made their mark following a defensive masterclass in CAF Group D to win its way into the tournament by four points over Cameroon.  

The team, managed by Pedro Leitao Brito (or Bubista, as many call him), made it to qualifying contention for the first time since 2002 and were able to make it in off the back of great performances from veteran captain Ryan Mendes and Dutch-born Dailon Livramento.  

They may not go very far, but expect many Cape Verdean flags to be flown if the team plays a match at Gillette Stadium. 

Japan 

From the AFC, they look to go further than their round of 16 finish in previous World Cup runs, and hopes remain high under manager Hajime Moriyasu.  

A team built to excel as a collective, the Samurai Blue seems to have the depth to push completely next summer with the likes of Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ritsu Doan.  

Japan impressed in an international friendly in early October, winning 3-2 against five-time World Cup champions, Brazil, which further instilled the belief that they could reach new heights in their World Cup summit.  

Argentina 

You can’t get much better than world champions, and that’s exactly where they find themselves after a masterful victory in the 2022 World Cup final at the hands of Lionel Messi. 

The road to winning wasn’t easy. A loss to Saudi Arabia early in the tournament seemed to spell the end for the Argentines until they crawled back with crucial wins against the likes of the Netherlands and an enthralling final against France to take their third World Cup title. 

Fortunately, their qualification run has been much smoother in comparison, as they steamrolled CONMEBOL to take an easy qualification spot. La Albiceleste scored the most goals, allowed the second fewest and beat second-place Ecuador by nine points overall. 

All signs point to the Argentines fielding yet another competitive side in the 2026 tournament, with the main question being if the team can repeat their success in Qatar –– and if homegrown legend Lionel Messi will call it quits on his international career following the tournament. 

The highly anticipated draw for the 2026 World Cup pots will take place at noon Eastern on Friday, Dec. 5.