The World Cup field of 48 is finally set. Yesterday, the World Cup playoff finals took place, and four teams from UEFA along with 2 FIFA inter-confederation playoff winners booked their place into this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. From UEFA, Czechia, Türkiye, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Sweden each won their playoffs, while DR Congo and Iraq/Bolivia won the inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico to complete the field.
For USMNT fans, they now know who the team will face
in their final group stage match on June 25th: Türkiye. They beat Kosovo 1-0 in a hard fought match to secure their spot and join the USMNT, Australia, and Paraguay in Group D. Mexico sees Czechia join their group alongside South Africa and South Korea, as Czechia took out Denmark on penalties.
Bosnia & Herzegovina came back against a 10-man Italy to force extra time and advance on penalties. Former USMNT player Esmir Bajraktarević hit the game-winning penalty to send the Bosnians to their first World Cup since 2014. Italy will miss its third straight World Cup with the loss. Bosnia & Herzegovina will be Canada’s opening match on June 12th in Toronto and will play alongside the Canadians, Qatar, and Switzerland in Group B.
In the last UEFA playoff match, Sweden took out Poland with an 88th minute goal to secure their place in Group F. They will face the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia during the group stage.
In the first FIFA inter-confederation playoff, DR Congo and Jamaica were scoreless after 90 minutes, but a 100th minute goal by Axel Tuanzebe put DR Congo into their first World Cup since 1974. They will be in Group K with Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Colombia. Finally, in the late match, Iraq beat Bolivia 2-1 to complete the field. They will play in Group I with France, Senegal, and Norway.
With that, the full field of 48 teams in the 2026 World Cup is complete, and teams now know who they will face in the group stage beginning on June 11th. The official World Cup groups (FIFA ranking in parentheses):
Group A – Mexico (15), South Africa (60), South Korea (25), Czechia (41)
Group B – Canada (30), Bosnia & Herzegovina (65), Qatar (55), Switzerland (19)
Group C – Brazil (6), Morocco (8), Haiti (83), Scotland (36)
Group D – USA (16), Paraguay (40), Australia (27), Türkiye (22)
Group E – Germany (9), Curaçao (82), Ivory Coast (34), Ecuador (23)
Group F – Netherlands (7), Japan (18), Sweden (38), Tunisia (44)
Group G – Belgium (10), Egypt (29), Iran (21), New Zealand (85)
Group H – Spain (2), Cabo Verde (69), Saudi Arabia (61), Uruguay (17)
Group I – France (1), Senegal (14), FIFA Playoff 2, Norway (31)
Group J – Argentina (3), Algeria (28), Austria (24), Jordan (63)
Group K – Portugal (5), DR Congo (46), Uzbekistan (50), Colombia (13)
Group L – England (4), Croatia (11), Ghana (74), Panama (33)
