International qualifiers are the competitions that decide which teams take part in each edition of a FIFA World Cup tournament. The top two in each group earn a bye to the finals, while the rest compete in a series of play-off matches, with the winners taking one of the remaining two spots in the tournament.

There are 211 member nations of FIFA, and only 32 places at the World Cup, with hosts qualifying automatically. The rest must battle to make it through the thorny qualification process to get to the finals.

The main qualifying competitions kick off this week, and the results of those fixtures will shape the race for the last two places. Some countries have already sealed their place in the 2026 edition of the competition, including Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and the 2010 dark horses Ghana. Other favourites such as 2010 semi-finalists Morocco and 2022 runners-up Ivory Coast are still in contention for a top-four finish, but they will need to win their remaining group games to guarantee qualification.

In Europe, the qualification process is at its halfway stage. The 12 best teams ranked in the world will be drawn into three groups of four or five teams and face each other twice, with the top two going through to the next round.

In Asia, the qualifying process is even more complicated. The lowest-ranked 14 nations played a brutal pre-eliminary round in which they faced each other in two-legged H2H ties. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal were among the losers in a stage that finished in October.