Uzbekistan & Jordan qualify for first World Cups – who else is through?

South Korea and Uzbekistan have both secured their place at the tournament, while Jordan and Uzbekistan have qualified for their first World Cups.

In 2026, they become the eighth, ninth, and 10th teams to secure their spots at the expanded 48-team competition in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The three hosts already qualified, while Japan, New Zealand, Iran, and Argentina are the most recent members to do so.

In order to qualify for their 11th straight World Cup, South Korea defeated Iraq 2-0 in the final game of the day to draw 0-0 with the United Arab Emirates, which meant Jordan’s 3-0 victory over Oman confirmed their historic qualification.

Uzbekistan, which is ranked 57th in the world and has 36 million people, officially recognized as a sovereign nation in June 1992 after leaving the Soviet Union.

Before qualifying, Uzbekistan was a controversial opponent in a two-legged playoff against Bahrain in 2006 to decide who would represent the Asian Football Confederation in Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of that contest would then advance to the German finals.

Uzbekistan won the first leg 1-0, but a refereeing error caused Fifa to reschedule the game, which they ultimately lost thanks to away goals.

The Uzbeks, however, have made it to the semi-finals and quarter-finals of last year, and have qualified for every Asian Cup final since 1996.

Jordan, who won the Asian Cup in 1986, is ranked 62nd in the world and will face their seventh World Cup qualifying event.

Before 2014, they had only recently lost an intercontinental play-off to Uruguay, which was the closest they had ever come close to qualifying.

Argentina has already qualified for the finals.

A sizable group of 10 teams from South America compete in the qualifying program, which began in September 2023.

The top six all advance to the World Cup, with seventh place going to the intercontinental play-offs.

Teams have already advanced to Jordan, South Korea, Iran, and Uzbekistan.

The lower-ranked teams were competing in Asian qualifying starting in October 2023.

The top two teams from three distinct groups automatically qualify for the third round.

The positions held by Australia currently occupy the final automatic qualification spot, while Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, and Jordan have already been secured.

Teams have completed: None

The nine African groups that qualified for World Cup qualifying, each with six teams, all started in November 2023.

Each group’s top team automatically passes. Egypt, DR Congo, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia, and Ghana are the current leaders with four games left.

Teams that have already qualified: None with qualifying: The USA, Canada, and Mexico will all be co-hosts.

With three of their biggest stars not participating because they qualified as hosts, there are still plenty of spots up for grabs in the Concacaf qualifying.

There is still a long way to go, just like in Europe, with autumn qualifying not possible.

The top two teams from each of the six five-team groups advance to the next stage.

Teams have completed: None

The winners of each group will qualify for the World Cup, and the 12 runners-up will face the top four Uefa Nations League group winners who have not already qualified for four more places in each of the 12 groups.

The only continent without a team in the intercontinental play-offs is Europe.

Due to the continued nature of the Nations League, qualifying only began in March, with some teams not even playing their first qualifiers until September.

Teams have already reached: New Zealand

The qualifying period for Oceania has already come to an end with New Zealand defeating New Caledonia 3-0 in the final.

Due to the expanded World Cup, New Zealand automatically enters the tournament. A play-off spot is typically reserved for Oceania.