The 2026 FIFA World Cup has some important firsts: It is the first to be hosted by three countries (Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.) and the first to include 48 finalists, up from 32 in Qatar 2022.
Now, it also has the first team that has earn a spot during the long qualification process: Japan, representing the Asian Football Confederation.
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Japan joins the three host teams, which qualified automatically, taking three spots from the Concacaf region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean).
Every region has a certain allocation of spots, but all of them — except Europe — also earn spots for a playoff that will define the last two places to get to the total of 48.
Here’s how FIFA distributed the tickets to 2026:
AFC (Asia): 8 tickets, plus one playoff spot
CAF (Africa): 9 tickets, plus one playoff spot
Concacaf (North America, Central America and Caribbean): 3 automatic spots, 3 tickets and 2 playoff spots
CONMEBOL: 6 tickets, plus one playoff spot
OFC (Oceania): 1 ticket and one playoff spot
UEFA (Europe): 16 tickets
Full lists of teams qualified to the 2026 World Cup
United States
Canada
Mexico
Japan