Full groups and fixtures set for 2026 FIFA World Cup

April 01, 2026

The 48 teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico have been confirmed after the final qualifiers. DR Congo and Iraq secured the last spots, with Curacao, Cape Verde, Uzbekistan and Jordan making their debuts. Argentina enter as defending champions.

DR Congo qualified by defeating Jamaica in a play-off, where Axel Tuanzebe, the Burnley defender, scored the decisive goal from a corner in extra time. It marks their first appearance in 52 years. Iraq advanced alongside European play-off winners Turkiye, Czechia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sweden, finalizing the field on April 1, 2026. 101GreatGoals.com detailed the groups and schedule, with all times in BST.

What people are saying

X users reacted to the final confirmation of 2026 FIFA World Cup groups after DR Congo and Iraq secured spots via playoffs. Positive sentiments celebrate debuts for Curacao, Cape Verde, Uzbekistan, and Jordan, alongside historic returns. Skepticism emerged over inclusion of smaller nations potentially leading to lopsided matches. Fans analyzed group strengths, noting easy draws for Argentina and tougher ones like England vs Croatia.

And I appreciate they want the spread between continents, but Curacao, Congo, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde etc in a World Cup and not Italy (funny I know) and Denmark is just silly. They’ll be some absolutely hammerings in group games!

— Adam Clift (@clifty04) April 1, 2026

Iraq 🇮🇶 book their first finals appearance in 40 years

DR Congo 🇨🇩 their first in over 50 years

The final groups are locked in!

Group I
France 🇫🇷
Senegal 🇸🇳
Norway 🇳🇴
🆕 Iraq 🇮🇶

Group K
Portugal 🇵🇹
Colombia 🇨🇴
Uzbekistan 🇺🇿
🆕 DR Congo 🇨🇩

— Footie Matters ⚽ (@Tom_Winch33) April 1, 2026

Czechia, Bosnia, DR Congo, Iraq, Sweden and Turkey are the last to book a place at the 2026 World Cup! ✅

12 groups
48 teams
The biggest World Cup ever held

Who's going all the way? 🌍🏆 pic.twitter.com/p3YMwIDfgK

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) April 1, 2026

bro the 2026 World Cup draw is WILD 😭 they really threw England and Croatia in the same group??
Someone is going home early that should NOT be going home early

And then Argentina gets Austria, Algeria, and Jordan 💀, actually criminal how easy that is. They're coasting to the… pic.twitter.com/syGhITE12F

— Diana (@CITYDianaa) April 1, 2026

Sources

• https://www.101greatgoals.com/football/internationals/world-cup-groups-2026-fifa/
• https://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/tuanzebe-hjalte-for-dr-kongo-693655
• https://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/this-is-africa-1-april-693554