USA, Mexico, Canada will automatically qualify as hosts, confirms FIFA

USA, Mexico and Canada have all earned a spot in the next edition of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, which the three nations will be jointly hosting. While FIFA usually allows host nations to surpass qualification rounds, the fact that three countries were to jointly host the 2026 edition had raised queries whether this time too the same rule would come in to play.

FIFA confirmed that news late on Tuesday. The fact that the 2026 edition will see an expanded World Cup, with 48 nations competing instead of 32, made things fairly easier for the global governing body of the sport.

"The FIFA Council confirmed that, in line with the long-standing tradition of



having all hosts competing at the FIFA World Cup, as well as sporting and operational considerations, the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Canada, Mexico and the USA, will qualify automatically for the final round of the competition, with their slots therefore being deducted from the overall allocation of six assigned to CONCACAF," FIFA said in a statement released on Tuesday.

It must be noted that USA and Mexico have usually eased into World Cups by going through the CONCACAF qualifying event with ease. Canada, on the other hand, qualified for the recently-concluded event in Qatar after a 36-year hiatus. At Qatar 2022, Canada lost all three of its group-stage matches.