March 30, 2025 | 08:27 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 2026 World Cup which will be held in North America will be attended by 48 countries from around the world. The three host countries, namely the United States, Canada, and Mexico, have already secured their places.
Meanwhile, the remaining 45 tickets are still being contested. Despite the ongoing qualifications, four countries have already secured their place in the World Cup. They are Japan, Iran, New Zealand, and Argentina.
1. Japan
Japan is the first country to secure a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. The Blue Samurai secured their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after defeating Bahrain 2-0 on March 20, 2025.
Japan has won six out of eight matches in their third round of qualifications so far, only dropping points when they drew 1-1 with Australia on Matchday 4 in October 2024 and 0-0 against Saudi Arabia on matchday 8 on March 25, 2025.
2. Iran
The Iranian national team became the second Asian representative to qualify for the final round of the 2026 World Cup. They followed Japan who had advanced earlier. Iran qualified after playing 2-2 with Uzbekistan at the Azadi Stadium, Tehran, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
Iran topped the Group A standings in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. They now have 20 points from eight matches, leading by 3 points from Uzbekistan and 7 points from the United Arab Emirates.
With two matches remaining, Iran is guaranteed not to be displaced from the top two positions. Iran and Japan have secured two out of the eight Asian slots for the 2026 World Cup held in North America.
3. New Zealand
New Zealand will appear in the 2026 World Cup for the third time after their brilliant performance in the second round in Auckland, which saw them defeat New Caledonia and secure the only automatic OFC ticket to the prestigious global event.
A 3-0 victory in front of a vibrant Eden Park crowd has enabled the current generation to match the team of Spain in 1982 and South Africa in 2010 as the only New Zealand teams to reach the World Cup. Meanwhile, New Caledonia will head to the FIFA Playoff Tournament and hope to make history by qualifying for the first time.
4. Argentina
Argentina has become the fourth non-host country to secure their place in the 2026 World Cup. The team led by Lionel Scaloni secured their ticket to the tournament without having to play on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. The Albiceleste currently has collected 28 points.
Nurdin Saleh contributed for this article.
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