I wanted to just go ahead and get this started since we are in the last international break of qualifying (not including the playoff matches in March). By the end of next week, we will know 42 of the 48 teams playing in the World Cup next summer.



The group stage draw will happen on December 5th at 11 AM CT. We will then know where every team will be playing their matches.



The way we've done these tournaments in the past is to have this main thread as well as individual threads for the USMNT matches. We've also done threads for individual stages (groups/Ro16/QF/SF/F), but it can clutter up the board. I've done the individual group threads with tables to make tracking points and who advances easier, but we can decide if we want that when we get closer. There is also now the ability for the top 8 of 12 3rd place teams to advance.

Current Teams Qualified (will update as needed):

Hosts (3):
United States of America
Mexico
Canada

UEFA (12/16):
England
France
Croatia
Portugal
Norway
Germany
Netherlands
Belgium
Spain
Switzerland
Austria
Scotland

CONMEBOL (South America) (6):
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Uruguay

AFC (Asia) (8):
Australia
Iran
Japan
Jordan (First Appearance)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Uzbekistan (First Appearance)

CAF (Africa) (9):
Algeria
Cape Verde (First Appearance, 2nd smallest nation to ever make WC behind Iceland)
Egypt
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Morocco
Senegal
South Africa
Tunisia

OFC (Oceania) (1):
New Zealand

CONCACAF (North America) (3):
Panama
Haiti
Curacao (First Appearance, Smallest nation to ever qualify for WC)

There are 2 different playoffs in March of next year for the final 6 spots. 4 spots (out of 16 teams) in the UEFA Playoffs and 2 (out of 6 teams) Spots in the Inter-Confederation Playoffs. Below is the list of teams in those qualifying spots:

IC Playoffs:
Bolivia (CONMEBOL) vs Suriname (CONCACAF); Winner plays Iraq (AFC) for WC Spot

New Caledonia (OFC) vs. Jamaica (CONCACAF); Winner plays DR Congo (CAF) for WC Spot

UEFA Playoffs:
Bracket A:
Italy v Northern Ireland
Wales v Bosnia & Herzegovina

Winners play for WC Spot

Bracket B:
Ukraine v Sweden
Poland v Albania

Winners play for WC Spot

Bracket C:
Turkey v Romania
Slovakia v Kosovo

Winners play for WC Spot

Bracket D:
Denmark v North Macedonia
Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland

Winners play for WC Spot

Official Groups for the 2026 World Cup.

Group A:
Mexico
South Africa
Korea Republic
UEFA Play-Off Group D (Denmark/North Macedonia/Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland)



Group B:
Canada
UEFA Play-Off Group A (Italy/Northern Ireland/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Qatar
Switzerland



Group C:
Brazil
Morocco
Haiti
Scotland



Group D:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Paraguay
Australia
UEFA Play-Off Group C (Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo)



Group E:
Germany
Curacao
Cte d'Ivoire
Ecuador



Group F:
Netherlands
Japan
UEFA Play-Off B (Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania)
Tunisia



Group G:
Belgium
Egypt
Iran
New Zealand



Group H:
Spain
Cabo Verde
Saudi Arabia
Uruguay



Group I:
France
Senegal
IC Play-Off 2 (Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname)
Norway



Group J:
Argentina
Algeria
Austria
Jordan



Group K:
Portugal
IC Play-Off 1 (New Caledonia/Jamaica/DR Congo)
Uzbekistan
Colombia



Group L:
England
Croatia
Ghana
Panama

I don't know if y'all have been following along with CONCACAF qualifying, but with 1 match remaining in the 3 groups, there is a decent chance that Suriname, Curacao and Haiti may all win the automatic spots

Ireland scored in the 96th minute to beat Hungary and reach the playoffs.

wangus12 said:

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Ireland scored in the 96th minute to beat Hungary and reach the playoffs.

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Incredible finish to that game. Couldn't have been more than 30s left in the match and just barely got a toe on it to slip it past the keeper.

Huge match this afternoon on FS2… Germany vs. Slovakia

Germany qualifies directly with Win or Draw; Slovakia qualifies with a win. Negative outcome for either team means they go to the playoffs.

Italy is also headed to the playoffs and at risk of missing a 3rd WC in a row

Well, Germany decided to not screw around so no drama today. Up 4-0 with 25 mins left.

Belgium could fall to the playoff tomorrow though.

They'd have to lose to Liechtenstein who haven't scored a goal in qualifying yet

Dare to dream

Well. So much for that idea. Belgium 3-0 with 84% possession in the first half. Liechtenstein hasn't even gotten a single shot attempt off.

Iraq had a 90+17 minute handball penalty to beat UAE to get to the playoff

Can't wait to see highlights from Scotland-Denmark…

The first goal by scotland was ridiculous

CONCACAF finales starting in 2 hrs. Field will be set other than playoffs in March.

This is the best tweet of all time. https://t.co/U2KfmFcVFA

— Pie & Bovril 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@pieandbov) November 18, 2025

CONCACAF matches at HT. Currently, Haiti, Curacao and Panama in the WC spots

And those 3 qualify. Jamaica and Suriname advance to the playoffs. Curacao become the smallest nation to ever advance to the World Cup

Jamaica were down to ten, and damn near stole a penalty 6 minutes into stoppage time.

Reação dos integrantes da TV de Curaçao na hora que o VAR anulou o penalti pic.twitter.com/6SP0WEo3n1

— Reinaldo Andrade Raimundsson (@rei_raimundsson) November 19, 2025

It is interesting to see what happened when you take the 2 strongest teams in CONCACAF out of WCQ. Oh. Canada too.

I suspect the dynamic changed quite a bit and made things more favorable for underdogs to take advantage. Still, it's stunning that Panama was the only traditional Hex team to make it.

Draws for both the UEFA and Intercontinental playoffs will be tomorrow.

Two World Cup spots will be claimed at the inter-confederation playoffs in March 🌎🏆

🇳🇨 New Caledonia vs. 🇯🇲 Jamaica—Winner vs. 🇨🇩 DR Congo

🇧🇴 Bolivia vs. 🇸🇷 Suriname—Winner vs. 🇮🇶 Iraq pic.twitter.com/0eu4ZYCqEg

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 20, 2025

Four World Cup spots from Europe are up for grabs in March 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DTEFTV4kFk

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 20, 2025

deadbq03 said:

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Can't wait to see highlights from Scotland-Denmark…

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What an absolutely INSANE match to qualify.



My mother was Scottish so I couldn't be happier for the Tartan Army! I've been hoping for this since they annouced we were hosting.

With the pots set for the draw, this person has come up with probabilities that different teams could face each other.

In a nutshell… due to rules on federations playing against each other, the 3 host countries are the most likely to end up in a group of death with those infernal UEFA playoff winners. I really really hate that FIFA lets UEFA do this and then puts those teams in Pot 4. I'm not sure a single team in the playoff would be Pot 4 on their own, but somehow by virtue of being in UEFA playoff, that's where they'll be. Screws them over and screws the group over.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1p8r3ks/oc_2026_fifa_world_cup_draw_probability_of_teams/

I still think he should've gone full-on Frasier Crane style bald-mane. Would fit 100% with his mad-scientist analysis.

I was wondering when he went to Turkey.

Just pick the groups already.

Melania is probably the only one there who understood what Bocelli was singing. Heidi is always beautiful, but Kevin Hart can be annoying.