For many of the world's footballing nations, 2026 World Cup qualifying will either begin, continue or commence this month, with so much that can be decided over the coming week, almost one year out until the start of the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
In South America and Asia, qualifying is almost complete, with a clear picture now having been made about who may reach the finals, while Oceania have already finished theirs, with New Zealand booking their place at the World Cup in March.
There is no action in Africa this month, and some in Europe will not begin until September, but there is a lot to play for in North America in particular, in a week where numerous more nations could seal qualification for the 2026 finals.
Here, Sports Mole looks at who has already reached the World Cup, and who could join them this week.
Europe
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European qualifying has been extremely convoluted for this World Cup, with UEFA trying to shoehorn the new quarter-finals in for the Nations League, so many nations will begin their campaigns this month.
Some began in March, such as England and Wales for example, but for the four teams in the Finals of the Nations League, and the other nations drawn in their qualifying groups, will not start until September.
No nations have qualified yet from Europe, with only two matchdays gone, but by the end of the week, some could already look a good bet to reach the finals, namely England and Poland.
South America
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There is little left to play for in South America after a good week for most of the nations in the six automatic qualifying places back in March, which has left Venezuela five points adrift with four games to go.
Argentina are already through, and they will more than likely be joined by Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia, possibly as early as this month, with the gap growing each international window.
For Venezuela and Bolivia, their battle will now likely be just for the playoff spot in seventh, but Peru and Chile, who are joint-bottom, are not out of the race for that just yet, despite disappointing results in March.
North America
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Nothing has been decided in North America as of yet, apart from the fact that the three nations hosting the finals will be present next summer, and fans of the other CONCACAF nations will have to wait until the autumn before learning their fate.
The non-host nations from North America have drawn the short straw for 2026, because USA, Canada and Mexico have all been granted immediate qualification for the finals, leaving just three spaces open for the other 38 nations.
That has been cut to 30, and it will go down further to 12 by the end of the upcoming window, as the top two from each of the six groups currently participating in the second stage will move on to decide the remaining qualifiers in the autumn.
Nobody has yet sealed their place mathematically in the final stage, but it would be a huge shock if Honduras, Costa Rica, Haiti, Curacao, Panama and Jamaica are all not present, given the starts they made back in March.
Asian:
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The most interesting continent in qualifying is undoubtedly Asia at present, where history could be made this month.
There have been no surprises with Iran and Japan qualifying with little fuss, and South Korea are almost guaranteed to join them this month, but Australia and Saudi Arabia are in a real scrap for the second automatic spot in Group C.
The third stage will commence this week, and excluding South Korea who are almost there, it is tough to call who will finish second in each group, which also carries an automatic qualifying berth.
Uzbekistan are heavily fancied to do so from Group A, and will qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history if they can, and all they have to do is avoid defeat against UAE on Thursday, and they can start planning for next summer.
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Behind South Korea in Group B, a real intriguing battle has emerged between Jordan, Iraq and Oman, and one will be celebrating a World Cup berth by the end of the week, with Jordan currently in the driving seat by one point, and they will face their two nearest rivals in their final two matches.
For the nations who miss out on the top two, but finish third or fourth in their respective group, they will move onto the fourth stage, where two more automatic qualifiers will be determined, and there will be notable names in that round, including Qatar, and one of Australia or Saudi Arabia.
Oceania:
OFC qualifying concluded in March, when the top four progressed to a mini tournament to decide the automatic qualifier, and after beating Fiji 7-0 in the semi-final, New Zealand left it relatively late, but saw off New Caledonia 3-0, booking their place at the finals for the first time since 2010.
Despite losing the final, New Caledonia will have a second chance, heading into the interconfederational playoffs in March 2025, but they will be huge underdogs no matter who they face in those.
Africa:
No nations have mathematically qualified from Africa, and they will not resume qualifying until September, but Morocco already look a safe bet to reach the World Cup, sitting nine points clear with three games to play, in a section where Eritrea have withdrawn.
Andrew Delaney
