The soccer World Cup to be held in 2026 in the United States, Mexico and Canada will be the first with the participation of 48 teams, 16 more than those who played the recently completed edition in Qatar, which opens up the options to show to some countries that have been knocking on the door of the big event for some time.
Of the participants, 16 will belong to European football, which until now had 13. South America will expand from 4 or 5 to 6, Africa will rise from the current 5 to 9, Asia from 4 or 5 to 8, CONCACAF from 3 or 4 to 6 (three apart from the hosts in 2026) and Oceania will have a fixed one. The remaining two will be decided by playoffs. Within the possible applicants for the new positions, these are the main favourites.
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EUROPE
The classification model will be announced in January 2023 but the continent, in proportion, will be the least benefited by this enlargement. Despite this, there will be fewer options for ‘scares’ to occur like the one that Italy has suffered in the last two editions.
From there, everything is very open. Austria, Sweden, Ukraine and Turkey are among the countries that have given the best performance in this part of time.but they also ask for the passage Haaland and Odegaard’s Norway, Hungary or Iceland. It also remains to be seen what decision is made with Russiawhich has a powerful squad.
SOUTH AMERICA
More than half of the teams that will take part in the CONMEBOL qualifying phase will surely be present at the World Cup. Even so, it will continue to be difficult to finish among the first places since the competition and the level seems to grow higher and higher.
If the most recent history repeats itself, Peru would go directly avoiding the playoffs and Colombia I would have accompanied him. Chile and Paraguayrecent World Cup players, would now have more options to return, just like bolivianwhose only participation dates back to 1994. In addition, he also dreams Venezuela with settling a pending account with his story and going for the first time.
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AFRICA
African football is facing its great opportunity to shine. The psychological barrier of passing the quarterfinals has already been broken by Morocco in the World Cup in Qatar, everyone now hopes to match or exceed that feat. And the options will be greater from the year 2026.
The four-slot increase will soften the demanding classification process, a sharp guillotine for teams that are not exempt from quality. Egypt, three times champion and two runners-up of the Africa Cup since 2006 but that it has only played two World Cups in its history, it is the great example. But there is more. Mali, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Algeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso… several will be those who enter and even so they will continue to remain powerful combined with honey on their lips.
ASIA
The Asian continent has already designed its complex path to the next World Cup, with up to five rounds despite the fact that from the third the first classified teams will begin to be known. Those who have been present in Qatar 2022, or at least the majority of them, should repeat in four years.
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Apart from these, there is a loophole for someone else to ‘sneak in’. The United Arab Emirates is one of the strongest bidders in the area in recent yearssomething similar to what happens with Iraq, champion of the Asian Cup in 2007. Chinese or Oman They are also shown, although the next edition of the continental tournament in 2023 could make things clearer.
OCEANIA
It will be the first time in history that Oceania has a fixed position after their presence has always been at stake with a playoff that has sometimes eluded them, a circumstance that encouraged Australia to ask to fight in the Asian conference.
Without his presence as a contender, the path today seems paved for New Zealand, a priori much higher in level than the rest of its rivals. So much so that the team has not lost a match in the World Cup qualifying phase in the area since a 0-2 defeat against Fiji in November 2008. As of that moment, they have played 23 matches and have won 20, conceding 9 goals and scoring 62.
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NORTH AMERICA
In 2026 the process will be conditioned because three countries that have been to Qatar 2022 will repeat as hosts. are the cases of United States, Mexico and Canada. From there, everything can happen with the three remaining squares, being Costa Rica firm candidate for one of them.
Panama, who was already in Russia 2018, was only four points away from the play-offs for the last World Cup and created a notable gap with his pursuers, Jamaica and El Salvador. Honduras or Trinidad and Tobagowho already know what it is to participate in the tournament, still have time to present their credentials.
