As international football continues to grow, so too have the number of teams vying to play in the final tournament. Despite this, the structure of qualifying remains broadly the same. The world’s teams are grouped into zones that roughly correspond to continents, with each zone competing for a fixed number of berths. The top team from each group automatically qualifies and the runners-up often enter intercontinental play-offs, with the winners earning a spot in the finals.
The competition to qualify for the world’s biggest football showpiece is as much about national pride as it is about the game. The qualification journey offers a chance for smaller nations to gain valuable international experience and, in some cases, to overcome daunting odds. It’s a story of epic triumphs and heartbreaking defeats, of underdogs achieving the seemingly impossible and giants falling short.
With two rounds of group qualifiers still to play, Africa’s race for the 2026 finals is entering its closing stages. The identity of the seven group winners — expected to be Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Ghana — will be determined over the next week as their campaigns conclude. Meanwhile, the small island of Cape Verde has a one-point lead over second-placed Cameroon in Group D and could seal a fairytale World Cup debut if they beat Libya on Thursday and then host Mauritania next Monday.