With three matchdays left in the qualifiers, several nations are already out of the running for the 2026 World Cup final tournament, with Togo, Congo, and Lesotho not taking part.
Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, currently taking place across all continents, has already seen more than 75 national teams eliminated, FIFA said on its official website ahead of this week’s fixtures.
In Africa, fourteen countries have already lost any chance of qualifying, lacking enough points in their groups. Among them: the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, Togo, South Sudan, and Lesotho.
Everywhere else around the world, the list of eliminated nations is growing. It notably includes Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.
Other teams from Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean, and Central America — such as Afghanistan, American Samoa, Anguilla, The Bahamas, Bhutan, Brunei, Cuba, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Hong Kong, India, and Laos — have also seen their campaigns end prematurely.
For this edition, the World Cup will bring together 48 teams for a tournament that will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Here are the countries that have been eliminated from World Cup qualifying around the world so far:
Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Thailand, The Gambia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and Yemen.
The other countries are Afghanistan, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China PR, Chinese Taipei, Congo, Cook Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Eswatini, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, French Guiana, Hong Kong, China, India, Kenya, DPR Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, and Laos.