2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7 September 2024 – March 2025 |
| Teams | 11 (from 1 confederation) |
| OFC Qualifiers |
|---|
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]
Format
The 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
All eleven eligible OFC nations have entered qualification.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.
| Round | Matchday | Date | Venue(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Matchday 1 | 7–10 September 2024 |  Samoa
|
| Matchday 2 | |||
| Second round | Matchday 1 | 7–15 October 2024 |  New Zealand and  Vanuatu
|
| Matchday 2 | 11–19 November 2024 | New Zealand and  Papua New Guinea
| |
| Matchday 3 | |||
| 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
The 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 second round, each group contains one team from Pot 1, two from Pot 2 and one from Pot 3 (which also included the winner from the first round).
| Bye to second round | Competing in first round | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 1 |
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|
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First round
First 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
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 7 September 2024 – Apia | ||||||
 Cook Islands | ||||||
| 10 September 2024 – Apia | ||||||
 Tonga | ||||||
| Winner Match 1 | ||||||
| 7 September 2024 – Apia | ||||||
| Winner Match 2 | ||||||
 American Samoa | ||||||
| Samoa | ||||||
Semi-finals
| Cook Islands | v | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| American Samoa | v | Samoa |
|---|---|---|
Final
The winner advances to the second round.
| Winner Match 1 | v | Winner Match 2 |
|---|---|---|
Second round
The 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
| 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
| 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
The 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
| Semi-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
| Winner Group A | v | Runner-up Group B |
|---|---|---|
| Winner Group B | v | Runner-up Group A |
|---|---|---|
Final
The winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The loser advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
Inter-confederation play-offs
The 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
- ^ 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.