FIFA confirms Canada, USA, Mexico automatically in 2026 World

FIFA says that the United States, Mexico, and Canada will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Together with Mexico and Canada, the men's national team of the United States will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

With a joint North American bid, the three nations were successful in winning the right to host the World Cup. Although this is the first time FIFA had to reserve three host bids, FIFA has typically granted host nations the right to compete in the World Cup without first participating in the customary qualification competitions.

In 2026, the competition will grow from 32 teams to 48. Three more spots will be given to CONCACAF countries through qualifying.

In addition, the FIFA Council confirmed that the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will automatically qualify for the final round of the competition. As a result, their slots will be subtracted from the overall allocation of six slots given to CONCACAF. This is in keeping with the long-standing tradition of having all hosts compete at the FIFA World Cup.

Although the U.S. and Mexico typically make it into the World Cup, Canada's men's national team qualified for Qatar in 2022, ending a 36-year absence from the tournament. All three of Canada's group stage matches were losses.

The FIFA Council also set a deadline for submitting bids for the privilege to host the 2030 World Cup, announcing that it will decide in 2019.

The FIFA conference to choose a host for the 2027 Women's World Cup, which will take place first and be held earlier in 2024, will be independent from that one.

Three bids have been officially accepted to host the 2030 Summer Olympics: a joint South American offer from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile; a joint effort from Spain and Portugal that last year included the conflict-torn Ukraine; and a bid from Morocco.