2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Over 75 Nations Fall Short

More than 75 countries have been eliminated from the ongoing FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers across the globe. FIFA confirmed the development in an update on its official website ahead of this week’s qualifying matches in different continents.

In Africa alone, about 14 nations have been knocked out after finishing with zero or the lowest points in their respective groups. These include Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, Togo and South Sudan.

The full list of eliminated countries so far also includes Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Thailand, The Gambia, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Yemen.

Others are Afghanistan, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Chile, China PR, Chinese Taipei, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Eswatini, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong China, India, Korea DPR, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic and Laos.