A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 | |
| Founded | 1933 |
|---|---|
| Region | International (FIFA) |
| Number of teams | 211 (currently eligible) 215 (overall) |
| Website | Official website |
 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup.
Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones, each organized by their respective confederations: AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe). For each World Cup, FIFA decides the number of places in the finals allocated to each of the zones, based on the numbers and relative strengths of the confederations' teams.
As a courtesy, the host receives an automatic berth selection, as has happened with the immediate past tournament winner during much of the competition's history. All other finalists are determined on a standalone qualifying round achievement without regard to previous achievements.
History
The berths for the inaugural 1930 tournament were filled by invitation only. The 1934 one was the first one to have an actual qualifying phase. The first ever World Cup qualifying match was played on 11 June 1933, when Sweden defeated Estonia 6–2 in Stockholm, and the first goal was scored 7 minutes into the game, with some sources[1] attributing it to Swedish captain Knut Kroon while others[which?] credit it as an own goal by the Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner.
The number of teams entering qualification stages has increased steadily, and in response the final tournament has also been expanded (having 16 teams until 1978, then 24 between 1982 and 1994, then 32 between 1998 and 2022, and finally 48 from 2026 onwards). While the format of the qualifying tournaments has evolved, teams have always been grouped into zones which have remained relatively unchanged and roughly correspond to the continents. The teams from each zone compete for a fixed number of berths for the zone, with a limited number of places being awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs.
Qualification berths by continent
The table below lists the numbers of berths allocated by FIFA for each continent in each tournament. It also shows the total number of teams that entered and played in every qualification cycle.
In the table, "H" denotes an automatic spot for the host, "C" denotes an automatic spot for the defending champion, and "inv" indicates the number of teams that were invited in 1930. Places in intercontinental play-offs are represented as fractions, as follows:
- 0.5 – a place in a direct play-off
- 0.25 – a place in a semi-final play-off (where the winner would then face yet another team for a spot in the finals)
- 1⁄3 – a place in a play-off tournament where two out of six teams would qualify
 1930 [a] |
 1934 |
 1938 |
 1950 |
 1954 |
 1958 |
 1962 |
 1966 |
 1970 |
 1974 |
 1978 |
 1982 |
1986 |
 1990 |
 1994 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 4 inv | 12 | 11 +H+C |
7 +C |
11 +H |
9[b] +H+C |
8+ 2×0.5 |
9 +H |
8 +C |
8.5 +H |
8.5 +C |
13 +H |
12.5 +C |
13 +H |
12 +C |
| Africa | — | 1 | 0[c] | 1[b] | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Asia | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Oceania | —[d] | 0[c] | 0[c] | 0[c] | 0[c] | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.25 | |||||||
| North and Central America and Caribbean |
2 inv | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 +H |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 +H |
2 | 1.25 +H |
| South America | H+ 6 inv |
2 | 1 | 4 +H |
1 +C |
3 | 3.5 +H+C |
3 +C |
3 | 2.5 +C |
2.5 +H |
3 +C |
4 | 2.5 +C |
3.5 |
| Total berths | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | ||||||||||
| Teams in the finals | 15[e] | 13[f] | |||||||||||||
| Entered qualification[g] | — | 32 | 34 | 32 | 37 | 51 | 54 | 69 | 69 | 97 | 105 | 107 | 119 | 111 | 145 |
| Played in qualification[h] | 27 | 21 | 19 | 33 | 46 | 49 | 51 | 68 | 90 | 95 | 103 | 110 | 103 | 128 | |
| Qualified via qualification | 14 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | |
| Qualified without playing | 13 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
 1998 |
  2002 |
2006 |
 2010 |
 2014 |
 2018 |
 2022 |
 2026 |
  2030 |
 2034 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 14 +H |
13.5 +C |
13 +H |
13 | 13 | 13 +H |
13 | 16 | 2H | |
| Africa | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 +H |
5 | 5 | 5 | 9+1⁄3 | H | |
| Asia | 3.5 | 2.5 +2H |
4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 +H |
8+1⁄3 | H | |
| Oceania | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1+1⁄3 | ||
| North and Central America and Caribbean |
3 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3+ 2×1⁄3 +3H |
||
| South America | 4 +C |
4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 +H |
4.5 | 4.5 | 6+1⁄3 | 3H | |
| Total berths | 32 | 48 | ||||||||
| Teams in the finals | ||||||||||
| Entered qualification[g] | 172 | 196 | 197 | 205[i] | 203 | 210 | 211[j] | |||
| Played in qualification[h] | 168 | 193 | 194 | 199[i] | 202 | 208 | 204[j] | |||
| Qualified via qualification | 30 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 45 | 42 | 47 |
| Qualified without playing | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
- Notes
- ^ Berths were given by invitation only.
- ^ a b Actually the berths were taken by 10 European teams and no African or Asian ones. After Israel won the African/Asian zone without playing due to withdrawals of other teams, a special play-off was arranged between them and a European team, Wales, and was won by the latter.
- ^ a b c d e None entered.
- ^ No teams from the region were members of FIFA before 1950.
- ^ Austria withdrew after having qualified.
- ^ India, Scotland and Turkey withdrew after having qualified. France initially accepted to participate as a replacement but then withdrew as well.
- ^ a b Includes all teams that entered qualification, even if they withdrew or were excluded afterwards, or qualified by walkover. Does not include pre-determined automatic qualifiers.
- ^ a b Only includes teams that played at least one qualifying match that was not annulled.
- ^ a b Including host South Africa and non-FIFA member Tuvalu, which participated because other tournaments also served as World Cup qualifiers.
- ^ a b Including host Qatar, which participated because another tournament also served as World Cup qualifiers.
First appearance in qualification by team
Only teams that played at least one match are considered for first appearance. Teams that withdrew before the qualification, or that qualified to the World Cup by walkover due to other teams' withdrawals, are not considered.
