World Cup Qualifiers Roundup: England dominate group, tournament debuts confirmed for three nations

Last week concluded another set of qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026, with multiple countries booking their slots at the finals, while others still retain the chance to play in football’s most prestigious tournament.

Asia

We begin with the Asian Football Confederation, where after failing to make it through in the 2nd and 3rd round, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have successfully qualified from the 4th. The results mark the Qatar’s first successful qualifying campaign, and second ever appearance following their role as hosts in the 2022 edition.

They become the 7th and 8th representatives from Asia, joining heavy-hitters such as Japan, Australia, South Korea and Iran, as well as first-timers like Jordan and Uzbekistan. Iraq and the UAE will be duking it out in November, in a two-legged tie to determine who makes the inter-confederation playoffs.

Africa

Moving to Africa, the CAF qualifiers saw three more teams punching their ticket to the prestigious competition as Cote d’Ívoire, Senegal and South Africa all won their matches against Kenya, Mauritania and Rwanda. They join Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia and Cape Verde at the World Cup, the latter of whom will also be participating for the first-time.

On the other hand, Congo DR, Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon will be in next month’s Africa Play-off tournament to determine which team goes to the inter-confederation playoffs, for the opportunity to become the 10th African nation to play under the new expanded format of the World Cup.

Europe

Europe saw England race to a dominant 5-0 win against Latvia, becoming the first team from UEFA to secure automatic qualification with 2 games to spare, with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland yet to seal their fortunes.

In Group F, Cristiano Ronaldo has broken yet another record, holding the honour of scoring the most goals in World Cup qualifying with 41, following a brace to overtake Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz. With Portugal on the cusp of qualification against Hungary, Dominik Szobozlai converted a close range shot in the 91st minute, holding the Seleção to a 2-2 draw and keeping his nation’s hopes of the top spot alive going into the final round of matches.

The week was not without its drama, as Italy’s meeting with Israel was preceded by clashes between Pro-Palestine demonstrators and the police. As a result, the fixture was tightened with high security as the Azzurri secured a 3-0 victory, knocking Israel out of the qualifiers and strengthening their bid to make the World Cup in one of the 16 available spots after failing to reach the tournament twice in a row.

North America

In North America, the CONCACAF qualifiers saw the penultimate set of Final Round fixtures being played. Group A saw Guatemala beat El Salvador to keep their hopes alive, though a draw between Panama and Suriname means they still remain third. On the other side, Jamaica thrashed Bermuda 4-0 to retain top spot in Group B, while Honduras and Costa Rica both secured their own victories in Group C to retain the 1st and 2nd spot respectively in their bids for direct qualification.

South America

With CONNEMBOL finishing their qualifiers last month, the defending champions Argentina, alongside Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay have already secured qualification as Bolivia will be fighting out in the inter-confederation playoffs taking place with March 2026.

Alongside the hosts, USA, Canada and Mexico, 28 teams have already guaranteed their spot in football’s most prestigious tournament. With only 20 spots remaining worldwide, it is all to play for in next month’s final set of qualifiers.