238 days left to the opening match.
This post follows previous in September #1217374 . Up to 10 National Teams have earned their tickets for next year's World Cup in this window. African teams have completed their initial group phase and 7 teams have joined the selected group. The first European team, England, has already qualified. Two Asian teams have completed the list. Let's get into details.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Six teams coming from previous rounds, were drawn into 2 groups. Saudi Arabia were the winners in their group and will be again in a World Cup. It's their 7th time. In the other group, Qatar secured the top of the table and will repeat after hosting the previous edition. This is their second time in the World Cup. United Arab Emirates and Iraq will play a two legged contest, where the winner will qualify for the final play-offs to be held in March 2026.
Confederation of African Football (CAF)
Tunisia and Morocco got their tickets in the previous window in September. This month, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cabo Verde, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal have joined them. A remarkable success achieved by Cabo Verde to qualify first time in their history to the World Cup, with a population just short of 600k people.
Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
The National Teams are immersed in a group phase, where there are 12 teams drawn into 3 groups. Winners of these groups will qualify to the World Cup. We will need to wait until November window to know which sides will qualify. At the time of writing, Suriname, Jamaica and Honduras are at the top of each group.
Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL)
No changes in this area, as qualifiers ended last month. Bolivia qualified for the play-off that will be played in March.
Oceania Football Confederation
Qualifiers finished in March 2025. New Zealand qualified for the World Cup and New Caledonia is waiting for the remaining rivals at the March play-offs in 2026.
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
England has become the first European team to qualify for the World Cup with two matches remaining. The other 11 groups will be decided in the November window. Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, France, Netherlands and Norway look good to qualify. Italy and Germany are struggling but they still have chances to qualify.
Finally, something I cannot miss: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his 40th goal in World Cup qualifiers which is a record. This man is incredible what is achieving, even though he is playing in a minor league currently.