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FIFA confirms that the United States, Canada and Mexico will ALL automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup… leaving three CONCACAF qualifying spots available for the expanded 48-team tournament
FIFA has confirmed that Canada, Mexico and the United States will receive automatic berths in the 2026 World Cup.
The three nations are set to host the 2026 edition of the tournament with an expanded field of 48 teams.
Under the new rules, three more places remain for CONCACAF teams in addition to the three hosts for six in total.
The most recent edition of the tournament in 2022 saw a total of 32 teams in the World Cup.
A FIFA statement confirmed the entries of the three teams, saying this is in line with the traditions of the tournament.
Fans from all three host nations will be able to watch their teams in their countries.
Iconic venues like Estadio Azteca (above) and MetLife Stadium (below) will host matches
“Furthermore, the FIFA Council confirmed that, in keeping with the long tradition of all hosts competing in the FIFA World Cup, in addition to sporting and operational considerations, the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, namely, Canada, Mexico and the USA, will automatically qualify for the final round of the competition, thus their slots will be deducted from the overall allocation of six assigned to CONCACAF,” the statement read.
The three nations will split their games among themselves, with eleven stadiums in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.
Canada will host matches at BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver.
Mexico will host matches to be played at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey, the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, and the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
The eleven US sites are Lumen Field in Seattle, Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, NRG Stadium in Houston, AT&T Stadium near Dallas, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mercedes -Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, MetLife Stadium in the New York metropolitan area and Gillette Stadium south of Boston.
General view of the Azteca Stadium, where part of the 2026 World Cup in Russia will be played