2026 World Cup Qualifying European Zone: No team has qualified in advance

As of October 14, 2025, although some group competitions are about to end, so far, no European team has officially qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The currently confirmed participating teams include 19 teams and three co-hosts - the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The French team has performed poorly, and the European powerhouses have not yet secured their spot.

Surprisingly, no team in the European region, not even the 2022 World Cup runner-up France, has guaranteed advancement. The French team was recently held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland in an away game, which left the team coached by Deschamps with only a 3-point lead over Ukraine, with two qualifying rounds still to go.

Portugal and the Netherlands are close to qualifying

At the same time, Portugal and the Netherlands are close to getting tickets to the 2026 World Cup. If Portugal can defeat Hungary and the Netherlands defeat Poland in the next round, these two teams will be able to lock in their places in advance.

The Norwegian team only needs to score 4 more points in the next two games against Estonia and Italy to basically ensure its advancement. In Group I, Norway has accumulated 18 points with its outstanding performance, leading Italy by 6 points, but it should be noted that they have played one more game.

Other teams that are expected to advance directly

Traditionally strong teams such as Croatia, England, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria are also believed to be able to successfully qualify for direct advancement if they can maintain a stable performance and there are no surprises in the final rounds of qualifiers.

According to FIFA regulations, the European region will have 16 places to participate in the 2026 World Cup, including 12 places for direct promotion (the first place in each group), and 4 places generated through the play-offs (competition between the second place in each group). This means that although some strong teams such as Portugal and the Netherlands seem to be only one step away from qualifying, the final result still needs to wait until all games are over to determine. For fans, every game that follows will be full of suspense and expectations.