World Preliminary competition rules List Europe the latest start + Asia the most complex[SUCHUNFEI]

In mid-October, the world football world ushered in the national team match day, Asia and South America staged the world preliminary competition, the European region is the European League of Nations fierce battle. As we all know, the 2026 World Cup is co-organized by Canada, Mexico and the United States, and will be held in the summer of 2026. What are the differences in the preliminary schedule and competition system in each region? This article will interpret it in detail for the convenience of lottery players' reference.

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The 2026 US-CANada-Mexico World Cup will be hosted by 16 cities in 3 countries, which is the first time in the history of the World Cup that the three countries will co-host. In addition, the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup by 48 teams are divided into 12 groups to compete, each group of 4 teams, the group for a single cycle, the top two in each group and the eight best group third place to advance to the round of 32, and then the elimination of the World Cup for the first time from 32 teams to 48 teams.

As the host countries of the 2026 World Cup, the United States, Canada and Mexico will automatically enter the finals. Therefore, teams from all regions of the world will compete for the remaining 45 places, which will be allocated as follows: AFC 8 +1 play-off place, AFC 9 +1 play-off place, Central and North America 3 +3 hosts +2 play-off places, ConMEbol 6 +1 play-off place, Oceania 1 +1 play-off place and UEFA 16 places. Among them, the six teams that have secured the play-off places will compete against each other for the two main competition places.

World South America: The first 10 countries to start a double cycle

South America started first, a total of 10 countries to participate in the world preliminary competition, home and away double cycle. Each team plays 18 rounds, with the top six qualifying directly for the World Cup and the seventh qualifying for the play-offs.

The South American qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup will start from the first round on September 8 and end in September next year, with rounds 9-10 now underway. At present, Argentina is in first place in the standings, Ecuador is still in fourth place after being deducted three points for using illegal players, and five-star Brazil is in the middle of the table with 10 points, only one point ahead of eighth Bolivia, and the next game cannot be taken lightly.

World Cup: A total of four stages divided into 3 group matches + play-offs

The competition system of the World Asia is more complicated, and it is divided into four stages. The first stage is played by 20 teams ranked 27-46 in Asia, and the draw is a double cycle of home and away, with the winning 10 teams participating in the next stage. The second stage consists of the top 26 teams plus the 10 teams promoted in the first stage. The 36 teams are divided into 9 groups of 4 teams in each group for a home-and-away cycle, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the third stage. It was on goal difference that the national Football team ranked second in the group and advanced to the third stage.

The third phase spans the longest period, starting in September 2024 and ending in June 2025. The 18 teams promoted by the second stage were divided into 3 groups by drawing lots, with 6 teams in each group. The top two teams in each group, a total of six teams to qualify directly for the World Cup, the current third stage of the group stage has been carried out to the 3-4 rounds.

The fourth stage will be held from October to November 2025, and the participating teams will be the third and fourth of the three groups in the third stage, with a total of 6 teams, divided into two groups, each group of 3 teams, for a single cycle. The winners of the two groups advance directly to the World Cup. The second two groups play a two-leg home-and-away play-off, with the winning team earning a place in the World Cup play-off.

World Cup: 54 teams qualified directly from 9 group winners

A total of 54 teams participated in the African Zone of the World Preliminary round, divided into 9 groups, each group of 6 teams played home and away double cycle matches. The winners of each group qualify directly for the World Cup, and the four best group runners-up will compete in a play-off for the World Cup play-off places.

At present, the African region of the world Preliminary Tournament is completed in the fourth round of the group stage, and the fifth and sixth rounds need to be fought again in March next year, and the final competition will end in October 2025.

World North America Preview: The host locked 3 places for the remaining matches to fight again next year

Since the CONCACAF hosts have already secured three places, the remaining teams need to compete for three direct qualification places plus two play-off places. Considering that there are more islands in Central and North America, their competition system is also very regional.

First of all, the first stage of FIFA ranked the 6-35 teams in North America, a total of 30 teams divided into 6 groups, through a single cycle of group matches, to determine the first group. Then in the second stage, the six group winners will play home and away matches to select the three winners. In the final third stage, the three winning teams and the top 5 FIFA teams in North and Central America formed a group, a double cycle of home and away, and the final three teams with the highest points directly qualified, and the fourth and fifth qualified for the play-offs. It is currently in the middle of the second phase, and the second and third phases will continue next year.

World Ocean Pre-competition: Won the first direct promotion quota group stage + single elimination competition system

For the first time in the World Cup, Oceania Region won a direct qualification place, and this World Cup they have 1 place in the main competition and 1 place in the play-offs. The Oceania qualifying tournament is a single-round tournament for eight teams in two groups, with the top four teams in the group then playing in a single-leg knockout round, with the winner receiving a ticket to the World Cup finals and the second place receiving a ticket to the play-offs. The first round of the group stage is just underway.

World Cup: From March 2025, 55 teams will have 16 qualifying places

The World Cup will divide 55 teams into 12 groups of 4-5 teams for home-and-away group matches. The 12 group winners will directly qualify for the World Cup, and the 12 group runners-up and the 4 UEFA Nations League teams with the best results (not the top two in the world preliminary group), a total of 16 teams participate in a single-cycle knockout tournament, producing the last four places to qualify for the World Cup.

The UEFA World Cup is scheduled to start in March next year, which is the latest qualifying tournament of all the regions. The ongoing European Nations League will not only affect the FIFA ranking, that is, the classification of the pre-seeded teams in the World next year, but also for many teams, the European Nations League can achieve a good result for themselves to compete for a World Cup play-off opportunity.