Post by Panda on Jul 1, 2023 3:24:33 GMT 1
It's back again!
With the first draws for qualification for the 2026 World Cup due to take place this month, it's time to get this thread up and running.
The 2026 World Cup is expanding to 48 teams from 32, with the finals featuring 12 groups of 4 (after FIFA abandoned its original plan to have 16 groups of 3 due mainly to the amazing drama created in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup).
With 16 extra teams qualifying for the finals, the allocations for each confederation have changed.
UEFA (Europe): 16 places (up from 13)
CONMEBOL (South America): 6 places (up from 4.5)
CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean): 6 places (up from 3.5)
CAF (Africa): 9 places (up from 5)
AFC (Asia): 8 places (up from 4.5)
OFC (Oceania): 1 place (up from 0.5)
The automatic spots for the hosts are included in that confederation's allocation.
You may have noticed that only adds up to 46 places at the finals. The other 2 places will go to the winners of the interconfederation playoff tournament - a 6-team knockout competition taking place in March 2026, featuring 1 team from each confederation apart from Europe, plus an extra team from the confederation of the host(s), in this case CONCACAF.
How will the qualifying work? As with the last World Cup, there is no central qualifying draw due to the differing timeframes each confederation is using. Here's a breakdown of what we know so far:
EUROPE: (55 teams)
(Russia are currently suspended and it's too early to know whether they will be allowed to compete or not.)
12 groups of 4 or 5.
The 12 group winners qualify directly for the World Cup.
The 12 runners-up + the 4 highest-ranked Nations League group winners who don't finish in the top 2 of their World Cup group will go into the playoffs, where they will be split into 4 playoff paths. The 4 playoff final winners will qualify for the World Cup.
First matches: March 2025
Minimum games to qualify: 6
Maximum: 10 (assuming the playoffs are played over a single leg)
SOUTH AMERICA: (10 teams)
1 single group of 10.
The top 6 qualify directly for the World Cup.
The team finishing 7th qualifies for the interconfederation playoffs.
Ecuador have been given a 3-point deduction for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo.
First matches: September 2023
Minimum: 18
Maximum: 20
CONCACAF: (32 teams + hosts USA, Mexico and Canada, who qualify automatically)
Round 1: The teams seeded 29-32 will play a home and away knockout round with the 2 winners progressing to the next round.
Round 2: The top 28 seeds plus the 2 winners from Round 1. 6 groups of 5 playing a single round robin (2 games at home, 2 away). The top 2 in each group progress to Round 3.
Round 3: 3 groups of 4 in a double round robin. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup. The 2 best runners-up qualify for the interconfederation playoffs.
First matches: March 2024
Minimum: 10
Maximum: 14
AFRICA: (54 teams)
(Zimbabwe are currently suspended and their participation remains unclear.)
9 groups of 6.
The 9 group winners qualify for the World Cup.
The best 4 runners-up will take part in a playoff competition to determine which team qualifies for the interconfederation playoffs.
First matches: November 2023
Minimum: 10
Maximum: 14 (assuming the playoffs are one leg)
ASIA: (47 teams)
As with the last World Cup, Asia's qualifying competition doubles up as qualifying for the Asian Cup. It will include the Northern Mariana Islands, who are members of the AFC but not FIFA, and therefore ineligible to qualify for the World Cup.
Round 1: The teams seeded 26-47 will play a home and away knockout round with the 11 winners progressing to the next round.
Round 2: The top 25 seeds plus the 11 winners from Round 1. 9 groups of 4. The top 2 progress to Round 3 and qualify directly for the 2027 Asian Cup. The bottom 2 in each group will go into a separate group stage purely for Asian Cup qualification.
Round 3: 3 groups of 6. The top 2 in each group qualify for the World Cup. The teams finishing 3rd and 4th in each group move on to Round 4.
Round 4: 2 groups of 3. The 2 group winners qualify for the World Cup. The 2 runners-up go into a playoff to determine which team will take part in the interconfederation playoffs.
First matches: October 2023
Minimum: 16
Maximum: 23 (assuming the final playoff is one leg)
OCEANIA: (11 teams)
For the first time, Oceania will have a guaranteed place at the World Cup.
In typical OFC fashion, they haven't come up with a format for qualifying yet.
First matches: TBD
Minimum: If they use the same format as last time, 5.
Maximum: Again, using the same format, 8.
INTERCONFEDERATION PLAYOFFS:
The 2 highest-ranked teams of the 6 taking part will be seeded and go straight through to the final. The other 4 teams will play in the semi-finals with the winners facing one of the seeds for a place at the World Cup. The interconfederation playoffs will take place in one (or more) of the host countries.
With the first draws for qualification for the 2026 World Cup due to take place this month, it's time to get this thread up and running.
The 2026 World Cup is expanding to 48 teams from 32, with the finals featuring 12 groups of 4 (after FIFA abandoned its original plan to have 16 groups of 3 due mainly to the amazing drama created in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup).
With 16 extra teams qualifying for the finals, the allocations for each confederation have changed.
UEFA (Europe): 16 places (up from 13)
CONMEBOL (South America): 6 places (up from 4.5)
CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean): 6 places (up from 3.5)
CAF (Africa): 9 places (up from 5)
AFC (Asia): 8 places (up from 4.5)
OFC (Oceania): 1 place (up from 0.5)
The automatic spots for the hosts are included in that confederation's allocation.
You may have noticed that only adds up to 46 places at the finals. The other 2 places will go to the winners of the interconfederation playoff tournament - a 6-team knockout competition taking place in March 2026, featuring 1 team from each confederation apart from Europe, plus an extra team from the confederation of the host(s), in this case CONCACAF.
How will the qualifying work? As with the last World Cup, there is no central qualifying draw due to the differing timeframes each confederation is using. Here's a breakdown of what we know so far:
EUROPE: (55 teams)
(Russia are currently suspended and it's too early to know whether they will be allowed to compete or not.)
12 groups of 4 or 5.
The 12 group winners qualify directly for the World Cup.
The 12 runners-up + the 4 highest-ranked Nations League group winners who don't finish in the top 2 of their World Cup group will go into the playoffs, where they will be split into 4 playoff paths. The 4 playoff final winners will qualify for the World Cup.
First matches: March 2025
Minimum games to qualify: 6
Maximum: 10 (assuming the playoffs are played over a single leg)
SOUTH AMERICA: (10 teams)
1 single group of 10.
The top 6 qualify directly for the World Cup.
The team finishing 7th qualifies for the interconfederation playoffs.
Ecuador have been given a 3-point deduction for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo.
First matches: September 2023
Minimum: 18
Maximum: 20
CONCACAF: (32 teams + hosts USA, Mexico and Canada, who qualify automatically)
Round 1: The teams seeded 29-32 will play a home and away knockout round with the 2 winners progressing to the next round.
Round 2: The top 28 seeds plus the 2 winners from Round 1. 6 groups of 5 playing a single round robin (2 games at home, 2 away). The top 2 in each group progress to Round 3.
Round 3: 3 groups of 4 in a double round robin. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup. The 2 best runners-up qualify for the interconfederation playoffs.
First matches: March 2024
Minimum: 10
Maximum: 14
AFRICA: (54 teams)
(Zimbabwe are currently suspended and their participation remains unclear.)
9 groups of 6.
The 9 group winners qualify for the World Cup.
The best 4 runners-up will take part in a playoff competition to determine which team qualifies for the interconfederation playoffs.
First matches: November 2023
Minimum: 10
Maximum: 14 (assuming the playoffs are one leg)
ASIA: (47 teams)
As with the last World Cup, Asia's qualifying competition doubles up as qualifying for the Asian Cup. It will include the Northern Mariana Islands, who are members of the AFC but not FIFA, and therefore ineligible to qualify for the World Cup.
Round 1: The teams seeded 26-47 will play a home and away knockout round with the 11 winners progressing to the next round.
Round 2: The top 25 seeds plus the 11 winners from Round 1. 9 groups of 4. The top 2 progress to Round 3 and qualify directly for the 2027 Asian Cup. The bottom 2 in each group will go into a separate group stage purely for Asian Cup qualification.
Round 3: 3 groups of 6. The top 2 in each group qualify for the World Cup. The teams finishing 3rd and 4th in each group move on to Round 4.
Round 4: 2 groups of 3. The 2 group winners qualify for the World Cup. The 2 runners-up go into a playoff to determine which team will take part in the interconfederation playoffs.
First matches: October 2023
Minimum: 16
Maximum: 23 (assuming the final playoff is one leg)
OCEANIA: (11 teams)
For the first time, Oceania will have a guaranteed place at the World Cup.
In typical OFC fashion, they haven't come up with a format for qualifying yet.
First matches: TBD
Minimum: If they use the same format as last time, 5.
Maximum: Again, using the same format, 8.
INTERCONFEDERATION PLAYOFFS:
The 2 highest-ranked teams of the 6 taking part will be seeded and go straight through to the final. The other 4 teams will play in the semi-finals with the winners facing one of the seeds for a place at the World Cup. The interconfederation playoffs will take place in one (or more) of the host countries.