28 of the 48 teams for next year's FIFA World Cup are now known...
SWEATING: Italy's head coach Gennaro Gattuso is facing the likelihood of another play off to get to the 2026 World Cup finals. Pic: Stefano Rellandini, Getty Images
WORLD Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are among the nations who booked the spot for next year’s FIFA finals following the most recent round of qualifying matches. It is Qatar's first time qualifying as of right for the finals after they beat the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
South Africa also clinched a tight group, with fellow African giants Nigeria pushed to the playoffs, on a tense final day of group stage qualifiers on the continent. This came a day after Cape Verde’s first qualification for the World Cup finals.
However big guns like former champions Italy - who failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs - look set to the dreaded backdoor route again, with Norway leading their group with 18 points against the Azzurri's 15, with two games left to play.
In Aftica, Ivory Coast and Senegal completed the list of group winners in African qualification and the lineup of nine automatic qualifiers for next year’s World Cup.
Ivory Coast beat Kenya 3-0 at home in Abidjan to finish one point ahead of Gabon in Group F, while Sadio Mane's double put Senegal on course for a 4-0 win over Mauritania in Dakar and a two-point lead over runners-up Democratic Republic of Congo in Group B.
South Africa topped Group C, shrugging aside a three-point penalty but needing a helping hand from Nigeria to book their first World Cup appearance since hosting the 2010 finals.
Morocco and Tunisia qualified last month while Egypt and Algeria made sure of their progress with one round left to complete last week.
Ghana and Cape Verde booked their places with home wins on Sunday and Monday respectively.
England are the first side from the European region to boom their place but the picture has become far clearer with some progress already made.
Dominik Szoboszlai's injury-time equaliser for Hungary denied Portugal top spot in Ireland's Group F although Roberto Martinez's men are five points clear with two games left and have a hefty goal-difference advantage.
The Netherlands (1-100), France (1-66), Switzerland (1-25) and Norway (1-20) are also poised to top their groups and World Cup favourites Spain are 1-40 in Group E, having won their four games by an aggregate score of 15-0.
Group C rivals Denmark and Scotland are guaranteed a playoff place at worst, as are Group L leaders Croatia.
Italy beat Israel 3-0 at home on Tuesday thanks to a Mateo Retegui double and a late goal from Gianluca Mancini, securing at least a World Cup playoff berth amid tension between police and some demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian march.
Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance as Norway lead Group I with 18 points against the Azzurri's 15, with two games left to play.
Italy are six clear of Israel, who have only one game left and cannot overtake Gennaro Gattuso's side. The Italians next visit bottom side Moldova on November 13 before hosting Norway three days later in what could be the group decider.
The group winners qualify directly for next year's World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.
"We really played the game we needed to play. We had everything to lose today. We played very, very well," Gattuso said. "We all remember the match against Israel a month ago. They made us dance and took us for a ride," Gattuso added, referring to the frantic 5-4 win against Ran Ben Shimon's side.
After the latest round of qualifying matches, here is a breakdown of the confirmed contenders from each of the six regions:
Canada, Mexico, United States.
: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan. : Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
: England
: New Zealand
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.
: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Nigeria will play off for the final intercontinental spot from the continent. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has yet to announce the dates for those matches.
: The UAE and Iraq will vie for one intercontinental playoffs spot when they compete over two legs in the final stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers in November.
: 53 of the 54 European teams vying for 16 qualification spots can still confirm their berths, alongside England, as their first-round matches will run until November 18.
With the World Cup host nations taking three spots, only three are left up for grabs. They will be decided on November 18. Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curacao, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago have all advanced to the third round. The three second-placed teams from each group will then fight for the intercontinental playoffs spot.
: New Caledonia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.
Bolivia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs, having missed out on one of the six automatic qualifying positions.
Peru and Chile, who were third-place finishers in 1962, were the biggest names to miss out from the South America qualifiers, where Venezuela were also eliminated.
Although not considered a powerhouse in Asia, China will be disappointed not to reach their first finals since 2002.
Angola, Libya, Mali and Namibia will be among those disappointed to be eliminated from the African qualification.
Indonesia were hoping to reach only a second World Cup, and made a valiant run to the fourth round of AFC qualification. But they will be disappointed not to have gone one step further following their Dutch recruitment drive, which included their coach, Patrick Kluivert.
Bahrain, who topped their 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage ahead of South Korea, only to be eliminated by Japan in the round of 16, will be deflated to have missed out on the chance to showcase their skills on the global stage. Palestine were only seconds away from reaching the fourth round of the AFC qualifier and, following their historic run to the knockout stage of the last Asian Cup, will also be disappointed not to have at least gone one step further in their continental qualifiers.
European qualification rounds stretch beyond the current group stages to March, while the intercontinental playoff final is scheduled for the same month, so the final 48 teams for the World Cup will not be known until less than three months before the tournament. March 31, 2026, is when all qualification will come to an end.
The World Cup draw, as revealed by US President Donald Trump in August, will take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC.
The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11, and ends with the final in New Jersey on July 19.
Agencies
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