A breakdown of the FIFA World Cup teams and groups in Canada, Mexico and the United States after the final playoffs.
Published April 1, 2026
Iraq’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has completed the 48-nation lineup for the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The Mesopotamian Lions beat Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday to win the second final of the FIFA Playoff tournament in Mexico. In the first previous final, the Democratic Republic of the Congo beat Jamaica 1-0.
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In the other matches, Turkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden and Czechia were the last four teams to complete the European World Cup qualifying quota.
Widely considered the most famous sporting event in the world, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest in its history. Forty-eight nations will play instead of the usual 32, with 104 matches at 16 venues in the three host nations.
Argentina will look to defend the trophy lifted by iconic captain Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022. Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their debut.
The World Cup opener will be a throwback to 2010, when Mexico faces South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the tournament’s opening match. Football fans hope this year’s first goal matches Lawrence Tshabalala’s stunning strike for the South African hosts back then.
Mexico in group A, which includes South Korea and Czechia, will be one of the most difficult of the 12 groups.
Team USA is joined by Australia, Paraguay and Turkiye.
Canada also faces the difficult task of emerging from a group consisting of Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia.
Here’s a breakdown of the 48 teams in the 12 groups:
Group A:
- Mexico
- South Korea
- South Africa
- Czechia
Group B:
- Canada
- Swiss
- Qatar
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group C:
- Brazil
- Morocco
- Scotland
- Haiti
Group D:
- USA
- Australia
- Paraguay
- Türkiye
Group E:
- Germany
- Ecuador
- Ivory Coast
- Curacao
Group F:
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Tunisia
- Sweden
Group G:
- Belgium
- Iran
- Egypt
- New Zealand
Group H:
- Spain
- Uruguay
- Saudi Arabia
- Cape Verde
Group I:
- France
- Senegal
- Norway
- Iraq
Group J:
- Argentina
- Austria
- Algeria
- Jordan
Group K:
- Portugal
- Colombia
- Uzbekistan
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
Group L:
- England
- Croatia
- Panama
- Ghana
