22 teams locked in World Cup spots: A small country with a population of 550,000 makes history, 3 new teams, 0 European teams

In the early morning of October 14th, Cape Verde defeated Swaziland 3-0 in Group D of the African Zone of the World Cup Preliminaries. The outcome of this game means that the 22nd team of the 2026 World Cup is born! Cape Verde, a small island country with a population of 550,000, has made a historic entry into the World Cup.

In the first 9 rounds of Group D in the African Zone of the World Cup Qualifiers, Cape Verde scored 20 points in 9 games and Cameroon scored 18 points in 9 games. Cape Verde vs Swaziland, Cameroon vs Angola. For Cape Verde, as long as they score all 3 points, they can lock in a World Cup spot.

This night, Cape Verde defeated Swaziland 3-0, realizing its dream of the World Cup, and the small country with a population of 550,000 fell into a carnival! Cape Verde, together with Uzbekistan and Jordan, has become a newcomer to the 2026 World Cup.

With the promotion of Cape Verde, 22 teams have confirmed to participate in the 2026 World Cup:

Host (3): United States, Canada, Mexico

Asia (6/8): Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Australia

South America (6/6): Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Uzbekistan Raguay, Paraguay

Africa Zone (6/9): Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde

Oceania (1/1): New Zealand

There are 26 seats left in the World Cup. There are 16 seats in the European Zone and no team has qualified in advance. There are 2 seats left in the Asian Zone. The African Zone will also produce 3 first-team teams, and 3 seats in Central and North America are waiting to be decided.

Asia: The qualifiers have entered the fourth round. The 6 teams are divided into 2 groups. The top spot in each group gets the last 2 World Cup seats. UAE VS Qatar in Group A, UAE can advance to the World Cup if they tie, while Qatar needs to win to advance to the World Cup. Saudi Arabia VS Iraq in Group B, Saudi Arabia can advance to the World Cup if they tie, while Iraq needs to win with all their strength.

Africa Zone: Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire are very hopeful to advance to the World Cup.

European Zone: No team has advanced yet.

In addition to the direct quota, the World Cup preliminaries also have intercontinental play-offs. A total of 6 teams will participate in the intercontinental play-offs. Bolivia and New Caledonia have already locked in the play-off qualifications. These 6 teams compete to determine the last 2 World Cup seats.