World Cup 2026: who qualified – and how do qualifying work?
Four teams booked their place at the 2026 World Cup during the international break, despite some European teams have not yet started their qualifying campaigns.
Japan was the first to seal their place, with three games to save, beating Bahrain 2-0.
New Zealand followed them with a 3-0 victory over the new Caledonia in the Oceania final.
Iran followed a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan, while the champions in defense of Argentina were the fourth team to qualify before a 4-1 victory over the Brazil rivals.
This is a total of seven of the 48 spots of the decisive world cup, with co-conductors in the United States, Canada and Mexico, all automatically qualified.
It will take more than a year before every single team is known.
The expanded dimension of the World Cup means that more teams will qualify from each continent than ever.
The BBC Sport looks at how things are going in the qualifications of the World Cup all over the world.
