Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup began on Oct. 12, 2023, when countries from the Asian confederation played their first round of matches and Myanmar's Lwin Moe Aung scored the very first goal in a 5-1 win over Macau.

Now, all confederations' competitions are drawing to a close, but we're still a long way from discovering the full list of 45 nations that will join World Cup hosts United States , Mexico and Canada to make up the field of 48.

Japan was the first country to qualify on March 20, but who else are we waiting for?

Qualified teams (39/45)

- Europe (12 of 16 qualifiers): England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Scotland, Spain, Austria, Belgium

UEFA playoffs:

Semifinals on March 26, finals on March 31

PATH A

1. Italy vs

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