2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Full List of Countries Eliminated After September Matches
story written by Okafor joseph September 10,2025
Over 80 countries have officially been eliminated from the race to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following the conclusion of September’s qualifying matches across the globe.
In the African zone, 18 nations have already been ruled out after finishing at the bottom of their respective groups. These include: Congo, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritania, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, The Gambia, Togo, Burundi, and the Central African Republic.
Global List of Eliminated Nations After September Qualifiers
- Africa: Togo, Gambia, Zimbabwe, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Lesotho, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Burundi, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Congo, Central African Republic.
- Asia: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China PR, Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Yemen.
- Europe: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein.
- North & Central America/Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands.
- South America: Chile, Peru.
- Oceania: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Vanuatu.
This brings the number of eliminated nations to over 80, with more teams expected to drop out as the qualifiers progress into the final rounds.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will see an expanded 48-team format, making it the biggest tournament in the competition’s history.
