While a few smaller teams have already punched their tickets to the World Cup, several of football’s powerhouses are still vying for a spot in the tournament. Even some previous champions are finding the qualification process particularly challenging.

Next March, four additional European teams will secure their places, with six other squads set to compete in inter-confederation play-offs for the remaining two slots.

From the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Iran, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Qatar, and Uzbekistan have all qualified. Notably, this marks a historic first for both Uzbekistan and Jordan, as they prepare to compete on the global stage at the world’s premier football event.

Meanwhile, as hosts, Canada, Mexico, and the United States have automatically qualified for the tournament, bypassing the usual qualification rounds.

Source: SBS News

Canada, Mexico, and the US automatically made the tournament as hosts and skipped the qualification stage.

Cape Verde, an island country in West Africa with a population of nearly 600,000, secured its spot in the World Cup last month. After Iceland, Cape Verde is the second smallest country by population to qualify for the tournament.

England is so far the only European national team that has guaranteed a spot.

Which qualifying matches will be closely watched?

This means some of the teams at the top of their group, such as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, can possibly secure World Cup qualification in the coming days.

Suriname, Jamaica and Honduras are currently at the top of their groups, but standings could change quickly.

Not entirely over for other teams