Bicycle Kicks and Emotions: Discover the Teams That Have Secured Their Place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
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A bicycle-kick goal, last-minute thrillers, historical breakthroughs, smiles and tears — the latest FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers delivered the full range of emotions, with several national teams securing their tickets to next year’s showpiece event.
As November qualifying matches wrap up, 14 additional teams have secured their places at the tournament, bringing the total number of qualified teams to 42.
Next year’s men’s World Cup has expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams for the first time. The remaining six qualifying teams will be decided through play-off matches in March.
The qualifiers started worldwide in October 2023, with Japan the first team to qualify.
The 42 qualified nations, including Australia, will find out who their opponents will be at the World Cup 2026 final draw in Washington DC on Saturday 6 December (AEDT).
The journey to the World Cup is filled with excitement and anticipation, as teams worldwide vie for a coveted spot in this prestigious tournament. As the dust settles from the latest fixtures, several European teams have successfully punched their tickets to North America, marking their place in the competition.
Among the accomplished teams are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Switzerland. These countries have demonstrated exceptional skill and determination, earning their qualification through hard-fought matches.
Let’s start with the most surprising name: Curaçao.
The small Caribbean nation, with a population of 156,000 and an area of 444 sq km, has made history as the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup following a 0-0 draw against Jamaica in Kingston on Wednesday (AEDT).
Alongside Curaçao, Panama, and Haiti are the other teams that qualified from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football in the recent qualifying fixtures.
In addition to these successful qualifiers, England had already secured its place prior to the matches held between November 14 and November 19. This early qualification underscored their strong performance and readiness to compete on the world stage.
The excitement continues to build as more teams strive to join these European powerhouses, each hoping to leave a mark in the upcoming World Cup. With the lineup shaping up, fans around the globe eagerly anticipate the unfolding drama and competition that only this tournament can deliver.
They are joining England, the only other European team who qualified before the matches between 14 November and 19 November.
One of the most iconic moments of the UEFA qualifiers occurred when Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 on Wednesday morning (AEDT), qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. The highlights of the match were a spectacular bicycle kick goal by star midfielder Scott McTominay and a strike from halfway by Kenny McLean to seal the win.
Striker Lyndon Dykes, who grew up on Queensland’s Gold Coast, was also playing for Scotland, and he is likely to be at the World Cup.
Norway and Austria are the other teams we will see at the tournament for the first time in 28 years.
Norway beat Italy 4-1, thanks to two goals from their renowned striker, Erling Haaland, who plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League.
Austria secured their place with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Which teams can still qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
This is not the end of the World Cup qualifier thrillers, with the final six places at the tournament to be decided in March.
Sixteen teams from Europe will play off for four places and six teams from the rest of the world will play off for two places.
Twelve of the European teams finished runner-up in their group and the remaining four teams finished third in their qualifying group but made the playoffs because they were among the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League group winners.
The 16 teams in the European play-offs are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Wales, Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, and North Macedonia.
Two other qualifiers come from the winners of an Interconfederation playoff, which will be played between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica, Suriname, New Caledonia, Bolivia and Iraq — coached by Australian Graham Arnold.
Which big names won’t be at the World Cup?
While teams such as Curaçao, Uzbekistan, and Cape Verde are making their World Cup debuts, and others are reappearing after several years, some big football names are going to miss the tournament.
Serbia, Greece, and Hungary are the best-known European teams that have not qualified for next year’s World Cup.
Four-time World Cup winners Italy will have to qualify through the play-offs and are in danger of missing the tournament for the third time in a row, after failing to make Qatar 2022 and Russia 2018.
Chile, a two-time Copa America winner, has also failed to qualify for the tournament.
African giants Nigeria and Cameroon, who have qualified for the World Cup six and seven times, respectively, will also not feature in the tournament.
