Who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup? Full list of countries that will be playing next year - how can England qualify against Latvia tonight
Qualifying for the FIFA 2026 World Cup is drawing to a close, with countries hoping to reach the finals that will be played in America.
For the first time in history, three countries – the USA, Canada and Mexico – are hosting the tournament. England are very close to booking their place, with Thomas Tuchel hoping to end 60 years of hurt and bring football home.
To date, 21 countries have booked their place at the 2026 World Cup, with Japan the first nation to qualify outside of the three co-hosts. Mohamed Salah’s Egypt return to the finals after missing out in 2022, while England can become one of the first European teams to qualify when they play Latvia tonight (Tuesday 14 October).
England currently sit at the top of Group K with 15 points, having won all five of their qualifying matches so far. That is a perfect record, bettered only by Norway in Group I, who have won all six of their games.
Albania sit second in the table with 11 points, but have played one game more than the Three Lions, while Serbia, currently third, are eight points behind them with 7. Victory over Latvia this evening would give England another three points and take them to 18, with two matches left to play.
That would mean Albania would be unable to catch up – as the maximum number of points they can win is 17 – and England would secure their place at the top of the group. They would then qualify for the World Cup as group winners.
If they draw or lose this evening’s match, they will not qualify for the World Cup until November at best. A draw would move them to 16 points while a loss would keep them on 15 points. Either result would leave the door open for Albania to possibly overtake them in the table, though in order for that to happen, England would need to lose both of their matches during the November camp.
Should England fail to win tonight, the earliest they could qualify for the World Cup would be 13 November when they face Serbia. Listed below are the countries that have qualified so far.
Asia:
- Australia
- Iran
- Japan
- Jordan
- South Korea
- Uzbekistan
Africa:
- Algeria
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Morocco
- Tunisia
North and Central America:
- Canada (co-host)
- Mexico (co-host)
- United States (co-host)
South America:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
Oceania:
- New Zealand
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on December 5 in Washington DC, though not every team will be known until after the play-offs next March. The 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11, with Mexico set to play the opening game at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The final will take place on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.