2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
The Oceanian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process is expected to take place from September 2024 to March 2025.[1] The 2026 tournament is the 16th edition of Oceanian qualifiers and marks the first time OFC has a direct qualification slot into the FIFA World Cup.[2]
Tournament details | |
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Dates | 7 September 2024 – March 2025 |
Teams | 11 (from 1 confederation) |
Format
editThe qualification structure is as follows:[1][3]
- First round: The four lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA Men's World Rankings will play a three-match knockout round in September 2024. The winner will advance to the second round.
- Second round: The winning team from the first round will join the seven highest-ranked teams in two four-team groups in October and November 2024. The top two teams from each group will advance to the third round.
- Third round: The four teams advancing from the second round will play a three-match knockout round in March 2025 with the winner qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and the runner-up advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Entrants
editAll eleven eligible OFC nations have entered qualification.
Schedule
editThe schedule of the competition is as follows.
Round | Matchday | Date | Venue(s) |
---|---|---|---|
First round | Matchday 1 | 7 September 2024 | Samoa |
Matchday 2 | 10 September 2024 | ||
Second round | Matchday 3 | 7–15 October 2024 | TBC |
Matchday 4 | 11–19 November 2024 | New Zealand and Papua New Guinea | |
Matchday 5 | |||
Third round | Semi-finals | March 2025 | TBA |
Final | March 2025 |
The inter-confederation play-offs will be scheduled to be played in March 2026.
Draw
editThe draw for the first two rounds was held at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland on 18 July from 9:00 CEST (UTC+2).[1][4] Although announced prior to their official release, the seeding for the draw was based on the FIFA Men's World Rankings of 18 July 2024 (shown in parentheses below).
For the first round, the four lowest-ranked teams will compete in a single-elimination play-off to determine which team advances to the second round. The highest-ranked team will face the lowest-ranked team and the second-ranked team will face the third-ranked team in the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches will face each other in the final.
For the second round, each group contains one team from Pot 1, two from Pot 2 and one from Pot 3 (which also included a placeholder for the first round winner).
Bye to second round | Competing in first round | ||
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Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | |
|
|
|
|
- ^ The first round winner was not known at the time of the draw.
First round
editFirst round matches will be played 7–10 September 2024 in Samoa.[6] The four lowest-ranked teams will compete in a knockout series, and the winner will advance to join the seven highest-ranked teams in the second round.[1]
Bracket
editMatchday 1 | Matchday 2 | |||||
7 September 2024 – Apia | ||||||
Cook Islands | ||||||
10 September 2024 – Apia | ||||||
Tonga | ||||||
Winner Match 1 | ||||||
7 September 2024 – Apia | ||||||
Winner Match 2 | ||||||
American Samoa | ||||||
Samoa | ||||||
Matchday 1
editCook Islands | v | Tonga |
---|---|---|
American Samoa | v | Samoa |
---|---|---|
Matchday 2
editThe winner advances to the second round.
Winner Match 1 | v | Winner Match 2 |
---|---|---|
Second round
editThe second round will take place from 7 October to 19 November 2024 with two groups of four teams playing each other once in a league format.[1] Matches will be played in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu.[6]
Group A
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Solomon Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to the third round | — | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
2 | Fiji | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | TBD | TBD | ||
3 | New Caledonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | TBD | ||
4 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
Group B
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to the third round | — | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
2 | Tahiti | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | TBD | TBD | ||
3 | Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | TBD | ||
4 | Winner Round 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
Third round
editThe third round is expected to take place March 2025.[1] The winner will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the runner-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.[2]
Bracket
editSemi-finals | Final | |||||
March 2025 | ||||||
Winner Group A | ||||||
March 2025 | ||||||
Runner-up Group B | ||||||
Winner Semi-final 1 | ||||||
March 2025 | ||||||
Winner Semi-final 2 | ||||||
Winner Group B | ||||||
Runner-up Group A | ||||||
Semi-finals
editWinner Group A | v | Runner-up Group B |
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Winner Group B | v | Runner-up Group A |
---|---|---|
Final
editThe winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The loser advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Winner Semi-final 1 | v | Winner Semi-final 2 |
---|---|---|
Inter-confederation play-offs
editThe runner up team will join one team each from AFC, CAF, and CONMEBOL and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "FIFA Headquarters to host OFC preliminary draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026". Oceania Football Confederation. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Road to the FIFA World Cup 26 set to begin". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "Journey to historic FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off in South America". FIFA. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ "FIFA to stage OFC preliminary draw for the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2024". FIFA. 20 July 2023.
- ^ a b "OFC Competition Calendars Confirmed for 2024". Oceania Football Confederation. December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.