The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup is just nine months away. European heavyweights such as Spain, France and Argentina are all set to kickstart the qualifying campaigns and they are aiming for a spot in the World Cup that will be played in North America.
Brazil and defending champions Brazil had already qualified for the marquee tournament. United States, Mexico and Canada have already qualified for the tournament automatically as they are the hosts of the event.
Spain, France, Germany And Portugal Look To Kickstart World Cup Campaign
Heavyweights of the football world, Spain, France, Germany and Portugal are all set to start their campaign for the 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup. France have had two consecutive memorable World Cup campaigns. They clinched the trophy in 2018 and ended their campaign as runners-up in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
So far there are 16 slots available for Europe, 12 of them will directly go through to group winners and the remaining four will be decided through the play-offs. Second-ranked team after Argentina, Spain will begin their campaign in Bulgaria and they will later travel to Turkey for their next match. Spain, who has the likes of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams in their side, has been bolstered by the return of Rodri.
The Les Blues, aka France, are eyeing for one last dance under their main man Didier Deschamps who has won the World Cup as a player in 1998 and as a coach in 2018. Didier Deschamps has been France’s manager for 14 years now and he is all set to step down after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. France share their qualifying group with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan and they are the favourites to qualify for the marquee tournament.
Portugal will be without the services of Diogo Jota who passed away in a tragic car accident. Cristiano Ronaldo will have his final chance to hold the World Cup trophy in his hands in the next year’s tournaments and he will be more than determined to put their best foot forward.
Asian Teams Dominate World Cup Qualifiers
Asian teams such as Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Jordan have also qualified for football’s biggest tournament. Japan will mark their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance since their debut in 1998. Iran, on the other hand, are gearing up for their seventh World Cup appearance. South Korea has a better record as compared to Japan and South Korea and they will play the FIFA World Cup for the 11th time.