The five-time Brazil champion confirmed his participation in the FIFA World Cup 2026 by beating Paraguay 1-0, thanks to a goal from the starry striker Vinicius Jr in front of a jubilant crowd in Sao Paulo.
Playing under the new head coach Carlo Ancelotti, the Selecao continued at halftime when the Real Madrid star found the net, to the delight of the 46,000 fans of the Corinthians Arena on Tuesday.
In other qualification results of the major World Cup, Palestine torn apart by the war had a broken heart when Oman attracted a level against them of a penalty converted deeply in time of time in their qualification match of the Asian football confederation (AFC) in Amman, in Jordan.
Palestine has played its international matches in neutral sites, notably Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. The War of Israel against Gaza, its control and destruction of sports facilities and places in Gaza and the occupied West Bank left the players incapable of traveling and playing in their place of origin, the Al-Husseini International Stadium Faisal in Ar-Ram, a city north-east of occupied Jerusalem.
Having a victory to reach the fourth round of AFC qualifiers, Palestine led the local team through the goal of Oday Kharoub at the end of the first half.
The al-Fidai seemed to have done quite until they conceded a penalty in the last moments of the match, and the kick of Essam al-Subhi in the 97th minute put an end to the match in a draw, crushing the Palestinian dream of having another shot in qualification by proceeding to the fourth round.
Oman has now resumed this place.
What teams have confirmed their qualification for the FIFA 2026 World Cup?
After the last series of qualification matches, here is a ventilation of the confirmed contenders for each of the six regions:
Africa: None of the 54 nations involved in the qualifications have been able to confirm their places because the first round of qualifying matches does not end before October 16.
Asia: Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Japan.
Europe: None. Similar to Africa, none of the 54 European teams in the running for 16 qualification points have confirmed their place because their first -round matches will take place until November 18.
North, Central and Caribbean region: Canada, Mexico and the United States. The host nations of the World Cup taking three places, only three are left to be won and will be decided on November 18.
Oceania: New Zealand. With a place to be won and 11 nations that fight for this, New Zealand came out victorious and took the place by winning the final of the playoffs of the third round against New Caledonia on March 24.
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador.
What major teams have been eliminated from the qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
Chile, third placers in 1962, are among the biggest confirmed names in the next World Cup.
Although China is not considered among the football powers in Asia, the accent put by the nation on the construction of the game at home and seeing its team in another World Cup since 2002 was crushed on June 5.
What teams can still qualify for the FIFA 2026 World Cup?
Apart from the nine African spots and 16 Europeans still to be won, the others who are still in the race for a place in the World Cup are:
Asia: Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq and Oman compete for the two direct qualification slots for the World Cup and a point in intercontinental playoffs.
South America: Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia will fight for the three remaining World Cup slots, while Peru can only progress to the intercontinental qualifiers.
North, Central and Caribbean region: Honduras, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Guatemala, Suriname and El Salvador have all progressed to the third round, from where three teams will qualify directly for the World Cup. The three teams placed in each group will then fight for the point of the intercontinental playoffs.
Oceania: New Caledonia has qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.
When will all the FIFA 2026 World Cup teams be confirmed?
Until March 31, 2026. With the European qualification cycles which extend to March and the final of the intercontinental qualifiers for the same month, we will not know our last 48 teams for the World Cup up to less than three months in advance on the tournament.
When is the FIFA 2026 World Cup planned?
The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11 and ends with the New Jersey final on July 19.
