What countries are on track to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

euronews (in English)

It's the second anniversary of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and qualifying for the 2026 tournament is taking shape.

Transcript

00:00Exactly two years on from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the qualification protest

00:05has begun for the next one in 2026, which will be held across three countries. The

00:10expanded 48-team tournament provides potential for nations to make it to

00:14their first ever World Cup. So, who is in the box seat to make an appearance? And

00:19who may be left behind?

00:23Hello and welcome to Football Now from the Albeit Stadium in Qatar. It was in

00:30this very stadium two years ago now that Qatar hosted the iconic opening ceremony

00:35for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. With just 18 months to go until the next edition,

00:40attentions have now shifted to 2026 and there are already qualifying matches

00:44underway in most confederations. There is still everything to play for, so let's

00:49take a look at some of the stories so far. Here in Asia, four teams went unbeaten

00:54in the first four games of AFC World Cup qualifying matches. Continental

00:59heavyweights Iran, South Korea and Japan. The surprise fourth team on this list is

01:03Uzbekistan, who are placed 58th in FIFA's world rankings and have never qualified

01:08for the tournament before. After winning the Asian Cup back in February, Qatar's

01:12bid to qualify again for the World Cup has faltered so far. All is not lost, but

01:17what is causing the back-to-back Asian champions to stutter in their

01:20qualification for 2026? I think that when you're coming in this group, for example

01:25in Asia Cup, this is a completely different tournament. You cannot compare

01:28their qualification and the tournament from Asia Cup. In Asia Cup, you must win

01:32every game every way. Here you can calculate a little. You must play at home

01:37and win outside on draw. This is something what many teams can calculate.

01:41We all support these teams to go to the World Cup. To qualify to the World Cup,

01:46the level is different. The competition is different. It's not like Asian Cup.

01:51The Asian Cup, we have two weeks preparation before the Asian Cup and we

01:55start very good and the things going fast. Each three, four days, game, game,

02:00game. Finally, we took the trophy and now it's different. We play two games, then

02:04we come back to the league. So like I say, it was a bad start for us. Let's head

02:10to South America now as Argentina are set to qualify again with ease as they

02:14look to defend the title they won here in Qatar. La Alba Celeste sit comfortably

02:20at the top of the Comnibol World Cup qualification table and look likely to

02:24be the first team outside of the three host nations to secure their place at

02:28the 2026 World Cup. Peru are at the bottom but have key fixtures against

02:33Bolivia and Venezuela to come in March as they attempt to propel themselves

02:37into the final round of playoffs. Powerhouse Brazil have lost more matches

02:42in this qualification campaign than they did in the previous four combined.

02:46They are still the only nation to make an appearance at every World Cup. But

02:50could the unthinkable happen? And could we see a tournament without La Sala

02:54sao? If this were any other World Cup, you would be genuinely concerned with

02:59the expansion to 48 with 16 going through automatically. I think Brazil

03:04will be fine if they can get their act together. There are problems producing

03:07talent in some positions. There are problems of how they're trying to set

03:11up the team but never write them off because even if it's restricted to some

03:15positions on the field, there is a depth of talent there that if they get it

03:19right and especially in a cup competition, which is all about peaking

03:22at the right time and having a little bit of luck along the way, it seems

03:26outlandish. The coach saying we will be in the World Cup final in 2026 but I'm

03:31not betting against it with my money. Africa are the confederation who have

03:35benefited the most from the expanded World Cup with an increase from 5 to 9

03:40spots available. Afghan champions Ivory Coast and 2022 World Cup semi-finalist

03:45Morocco currently lead their groups. That leaves Sudan, Rwanda and Comoros all

03:49looking to qualify for their first FIFA World Cup. One African heavyweight still

03:54struggling though is Nigeria who are currently in fifth place in Group C. They

03:58were runners-up at this year's Afghan but failing to qualify for the World Cup

04:02would be a huge shock. Can the firepower of Victor Ossiman and

04:05Anamola Luckman help to recover their form? With Nigeria it's a bit of a weird

04:09one because even though like they've only lost one so far, they've had three

04:14draws and the draws are not that great in a sense. They have a lot of squad

04:18depth right now. They have probably the best striker in Africa, Victor Ossiman,

04:21but then they might have the second best striker, Victor Bonifaz as well. So you

04:25have players to build up from. It's just that even though Nigeria is one of the

04:29most populous countries in the whole of Africa, they have that mentality where

04:32they can just feel that or they can go to Rwanda or get a result or they can go

04:35to Benin and get a result. But these teams are getting better and better and

04:38it shows how like the fact that Rwanda is topping the group right now.

04:41Well we're having to wait until March for UEFA qualifying to begin but that

04:46doesn't mean there aren't already plenty of stories breaking out across Europe,

04:50including England hiring former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel to

04:54replace the departed Gareth Southgate. So can he be the man to win the Three

04:59Lions their second ever World Cup 60 years after their first? I think they're

05:04very different. I think Gareth Southgate, he's not an easy man to follow. Well

05:08obviously the manager plays a key role, especially later on in a tournament when

05:12it comes to assessing the opponent and picking the lineup and such. But I think

05:17the reason England hasn't won in decades and decades since 66 is more it's in the

05:22heads and it's up to the players. By choosing the right leaders and giving

05:27them trust and giving them responsibility on the pitch, he can

05:31definitely improve and get closer to that goal of winning a title. But I think

05:37if England does not win a title it won't be his fault so to speak. Two years on

05:43from the amazing 2022 FIFA World Cup here in Qatar, fans are already eagerly

05:48anticipating the next one. Who will you be supporting in the USA, Canada and

05:52Mexico? Let us know using the hashtag football now 2026 World Cup. That's all

05:58we've got time for here from the Albay Stadium in Qatar. We'll see you next time.

06:02Bye for now.

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