With all 48 qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup now confirmed, here's a quick rundown on how each of them has got on at previous World Cups.
With all but one of the 48 qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup now confirmed, here’s a quick rundown on how each of them has got on at previous World Cups.
Which in many cases is “What previous World Cups?”
We have all the details about who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup and how qualification works here.
And if you want our view on current potential for glory next summer, the all-important World Cup Power Rankings can be found here.
World Cup record of United States (USMNT)
Previous World Cup appearances: 11
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 9-8-20
Best result: Semi-finalists 1930
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
Eleven of the 16 World Cup host cities are in the USA, who on home soil will be bidding to go beyond the round of 16 for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals in 2002.
World Cup record of Mexico
Previous World Cup appearances: 17
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 17-15-28
Best result: Quarter-finalists 1970, 1986
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Co-hosts Mexico’s run of seven straight last-16 World Cup exits came to an end in Qatar when they failed to get beyond the group stage.
World Cup record of Canada
Previous World Cup appearances: 2
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-6
Best result: Group stage 1986, 2022
Qatar 2022: Group stage
A third World Cup for Canada who are still awaiting a first World Cup point.
World Cup record of Argentina
Previous World Cup appearances: 17
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 47-17-24
Best result: Winners 1978, 1986, 2022
Qatar 2022: Winners
The defending champions were the first South American team to seal their place at the 2026 event, where they will bid for a fourth global title.
READ: 2026 World Cup Power Rankings as 52 countries topped by Argentina
World Cup record of New Zealand
Previous World Cup appearances: 2
Last World Cup appearance: 2010
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-3-3
Best result: Group stage 1982, 2010
Qatar 2022: DNQ
The only unbeaten team at the 2010 World Cup after being eliminated in the group stage with three draws. New Zealand are perhaps the biggest single beneficiaries of the World Cup’s expansion, with Oceania now for the first time guaranteed a direct qualifier rather than relying on a play-off place. Barring a huge shock, that qualifier will almost always be New Zealand unless and until Australia come crawling back.
World Cup record of Japan
Previous World Cup appearances: 7
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 7-6-12
Best result: Round of 16 2002, 2010, 2018, 2022
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
Japan haven’t missed a World Cup since qualifying for their first finals at France 98, but have never made it beyond the first knockout round.
World Cup record of Iran
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 3-4-11
Best result: Group Stage 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022
Qatar 2022: Group stage
This will be Iran’s seventh World Cup appearance but they are still yet to play a single knockout game having been eliminated at the group stage every time they’ve reached the finals.
World Cup record of South Korea
Previous World Cup appearances: 11
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 7-10-21
Best result: Fourth place 2002
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
This will be South Korea’s 11th straight appearance at the World Cup finals having not missed one since Spain 1982. Their best result came with their famous run to the last four as co-hosts over 20 years ago, while they have reached the knockout stages twice since then.
World Cup record of Uzbekistan
Previous World Cup appearances: 0
Last World Cup appearance: First appearance
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-0
Best result: First appearance
Qatar 2022: DNQ
A big winner from the World Cup’s expansion, Uzbekistan became the first debutant to secure their place in North America having been striving to reach the finals since becoming a FIFA member before France 98.
World Cup record of Jordan
Previous World Cup appearances: 0
Last World Cup appearance: First appearance
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-0
Best result: First appearance
Qatar 2022: DNQ
First entered World Cup qualification ahead of Mexico 86 and have at last made it to the finals for the very first time.
World Cup record of Australia
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 4-4-12
Best result: Round of 16 2006, 2022
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
The 2026 World Cup will be Australia’s sixth consecutive finals appearance after a 32-year wait for a second appearance following their first in 1974.
World Cup record of Brazil
Previous World Cup appearances: 22
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 76-19-19
Best result: Winners 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002
Qatar 2022: Quarter-finals
Have appeared at every World Cup, winning a record five titles, but have only been beyond the quarter-finals once since their 2002 success.
World Cup record of Ecuador
Previous World Cup appearances: 4
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 5-2-6
Best result: Round of 16 2006
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Knocked out by England on their one and only trip beyond the group stage, at Germany 2006.
World Cup record of Uruguay
Previous World Cup appearances: 14
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 25-13-21
Best result: Winners 1930, 1950
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Have already qualified for the 2030 World Cup as one of the ‘commemorative match hosts’ for the tournament’s centenary celebrations.
World Cup record of Paraguay
Previous World Cup appearances: 8
Last World Cup appearance: 2010
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 7-10-10
Best result: Quarter-finals 2010
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Achieved their best ever World Cup finish in South Africa in 2010 but this is their first time back at the World Cup since that tournament.
World Cup record of Colombia
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2018
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 9-3-10
Best result: Quarter-finals 2014
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Lost to England on penalties in the last 16 at Russia 2018 but failed to qualify for Qatar after finishing sixth in South American qualifying.
World Cup record of Morocco
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 5-7-11
Best result: Fourth place 2022
Qatar 2022: Fourth place
Morocco broke new ground at the last World Cup in Qatar when they became the first African side to reach the semi-finals, knocking out Spain and Portugal before going down 2-0 to France.
World Cup record of Tunisia
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 3-5-10
Best result: Group stage 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Became the first African team to win a World Cup tournament match when beating Mexico 3-1 in their first ever finals game back in 1978, but have only two more wins across six finals appearances and have never yet made it beyond the group stage.
World Cup record of Egypt
Previous World Cup appearances: 3
Last World Cup appearance: 2018
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-2-5
Best result: Round of 16 1934
Qatar 2022: DNQ
A team with seven Africa Cup of Nations titles, Egypt will be looking to correct a miserable record at the World Cup where they are yet to record a single victory having qualified only three previous times, most recently in 2018. Even their ‘best’ effort in reaching the last 16 in 1934 still amounted to losing in the first round of what was then a straight 16-team knockout tournament.
World Cup record of Algeria
Previous World Cup appearances: 4
Last World Cup appearance: 2014
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 3-3-7
Best result: Round of 16 2014
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Had their best ever World Cup campaign in Brazil back in 2014, qualifying at the expense of Russia and South Korea – who they beat 4-2 – in a tough first-round group before losing narrowly to eventual winners Germany in the first knockout round, but haven’t been back to a World Cup finals since.
World Cup record of Ghana
Previous World Cup appearances: 4
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 5-3-7
Best result: Quarter-finals 2010
Qatar 2022: Group stage
The Black Stars had never made it to the World Cup finals before 2006 but this will be their fifth appearance in the last six finals, and their record is solid too having twice made it out of the group stages. Theirs is a squad with plenty of familiar Premier League faces, most notably Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus.
World Cup record of Cape Verde
Previous World Cup appearances: 0
Last World Cup appearance: First appearance
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-0
Best result: First appearance
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Another first-time qualifier and briefly the second smallest country – after Iceland – ever to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament after getting the better of Cameroon in CAF Group D. Have since been knocked down to third in that list by Curacao.
World Cup record of South Africa
Previous World Cup appearances: 3
Last World Cup appearance: 2010
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 2-4-3
Best result: Group stage 1998, 2002, 2010
Qatar 2022: DNQ
This will be South Africa’s first appearance at the World Cup since hosting the event in 2010, when – as in 2002 – they were eliminated in the group stage with four points.
World Cup record of Qatar
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-3
Best result: Group stage 2022
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Have completed their first successful qualifying campaign having made it to the 2022 finals without any of that bother as hosts. Next target: a first World Cup point.
World Cup record of England
Previous World Cup appearances: 16
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 32-20-22
Best result: Winners 1966
Qatar 2022: Quarter-finals
The first European team to book their 2026 spot as they looking to end 60 years of hurt in North America. Have only been beyond the quarter-finals twice since that 1966 triumph, losing semi-finals in 1990 and 2018.
World Cup record of Ivory Coast
Previous World Cup appearances: 3
Last World Cup appearance: 2014
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 3-1-5
Best result: Group stage 2006, 2010, 2014
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Reached three successive World Cups between 2006 and 2014 without getting beyond the group stage before missing out on both the Russia and Qatar tournaments. Have won a game at each World Cup they’ve been to; not only have they never got beyond the group stage they’ve never finished anywhere other than third in their group.
World Cup record of Senegal
Previous World Cup appearances: 3
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 5-3-4
Best result: Quarter-finals 2002
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
Their first ever game at a World Cup is still the most memorable, when they shocked holders France 1-0 in the opening match of the 2002 tournament when they would go on to reach the last eight. Made it out of the group stage in 2022 as well, losing to England in the last 16.
World Cup record of Saudi Arabia
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 4-2-13
Best result: Round of 16 1994
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Haven’t been beyond the group stage since their first appearance in 1994, when they beat Belgium and Morocco to reach the last 16, where they were beaten 3-1 by Sweden. Beat eventual champions Argentina in the group stages in Qatar but still finished bottom of the group after defeats to Poland and Mexico.
World Cup record of France
Previous World Cup appearances: 16
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 39-14-20
Best result: Winners 1998, 2018
Qatar 2022: Runners-up
Have reached four of the last seven World Cup finals, winning on home soil in 1998 and again in Russia 20 years later.
World Cup record of Croatia
Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 13-8-9
Best result: Runners-up 2018
Qatar 2022: Third place
Have only missed one World Cup – South Africa in 2010 – since they first competed as an independent nation at France 98. Have gone out three times in the group stage, but reached two semi-finals and a final on the three occasions they’ve got beyond the first round.
World Cup record of Portugal
Previous World Cup appearances: 8
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 17-6-12
Best result: Fourth place 2006
Qatar 2022: Quarter-finals
Reached only two World Cups in the 20th century but haven’t missed one in the 21st, reaching the semi-finals in 2006 and the quarter-finals in Qatar. Are also certain to be involved in the 2030 tournament, which they will co-host.
World Cup record of Norway
Previous World Cup appearances: 3
Last World Cup appearance: 1998
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 2-3-3
Best result: Round of 16 1938, 1998
Qatar 2022: DNQ
A hugely talented squad, led by the relentless goalscoring prowess of Erling Haaland, won eight out of eight in qualification and are now looking to improve upon a miserable historical record in this tournament. Their last World Cup game was a 1-0 second-round defeat to Italy in Marseille on June 27 1998.
World Cup record of Germany
Previous World Cup appearances: 20
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 68-21-23
Best result: Winners 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014
Qatar 2022: Group stage
Won their fourth title at Brazil 2014 but have crashed out at the group stage in the last two tournaments. This has dented but not killed off entirely the idea that they can not and must not be written off.
World Cup record of Netherlands
Previous World Cup appearances: 11
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 31-14-11
Best result: Runners-up 1974, 1978, 2010
Qatar 2022: Quarter-finals
Unofficial holders of the ‘best team never to win it’ title having been to three finals and two further semi-finals without success.
World Cup record of Spain
Previous World Cup appearances: 16
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 31-17-19
Best result: Winners 2010
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
The 2010 winners and current European champions have underperformed at the World Cup since finally winning that first global title in 2010, failing to go beyond the last 16 in the three World Cups since.
World Cup record of Belgium
Previous World Cup appearances: 14
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 21-10-20
Best result: Third place 2018
Qatar 2022: Group stage
The last remnants of the fading Golden Generation will head to North America and make one last bid for glory having not made it out of the group stage in Qatar.
World Cup record of Switzerland
Previous World Cup appearances: 12
Last World Cup appearance: 2022
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 14-8-19
Best result: Quarter-finals 1934, 1938, 1954
Qatar 2022: Round of 16
Reached the quarter-finals at three of the first five World Cups – the last of those as hosts – but have never made it that far since. Recent speciality has been last-16 exits; that’s happened at the last three World Cups and five of the last eight.
World Cup record of Austria
Previous World Cup appearances: 7
Last World Cup appearance: 1998
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 12-4-13
Best result: Third place 1954
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Appeared in four of the six World Cups between 1978 and 1998 but hadn’t qualified since until putting that right this time around. Actual record in the tournaments they have been to is solid if rather historical. Finished fourth in 1934 and third in 1954, and made it to the second group stage (akin to a quarter-final spot) in 1978 and 1982.
World Cup record of Scotland
Previous World Cup appearances: 8
Last World Cup appearance: 1998
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 4-7-12
Best result: Group stage 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Proud owners of one of the more baffling World Cup tournament histories. Reaching six out of the seven World Cups played between 1974 and 1998 is no mean feat – it’s two more than England managed during that time – but infamously Scotland never made it beyond the group stage in any of them. Or at the two World Cups they reached in the 1950s.
World Cup record of Panama
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Last World Cup appearance: 2018
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-3
Best result: Group stage 2018
Qatar 2022: DNQ
A 6-1 defeat to England was one of their three defeats in the group stage on their only previous trip to the finals in 2018.
World Cup record of Haiti
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Last World Cup appearance: 1974
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-3
Best result: Group stage 1974
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Took the lead against Italy in their first ever game at the World Cup finals, but that was as good as it got. They lost that game 3-1 before going down 7-0 to Poland and 4-1 to Argentina. Pretty tough group, to be fair.
World Cup record of Curacao
Previous World Cup appearances: 0
Last World Cup appearance: First appearance
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-0
Best result: First appearance
Qatar 2022: DNQ
The smallest nation, by both population and area, ever to qualify for the World Cup. Fellow 2026 qualifiers Cape Verde are the third smallest ever to qualify.
World Cup record of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Last World Cup appearance: 2014
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 1-0-2
Best result: Group stage
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Stunned Italy on penalties in the UEFA qualification play-offs to reach only their second World Cup since the break-up of Yugoslavia.
World Cup record of Czechia
Previous World Cup appearances: 9 (8 as part of Czechoslovakia)
Last World Cup appearance: 2006
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 12-5-16
Best result: Runners up 1934, 1962
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Have qualified for the World Cup for only the second time this century, yet have been at every single Euros since 1996, when they made it all the way to the final. They also reached the semi-finals in 2004 and two further quarter-finals.
World Cup record of Turkey
Previous World Cup appearances: 2
Last World Cup appearance: 2002
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 5-1-4
Best result: Third place 2002
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Reached the semi-finals in 2002 before going out to eventual champions Brazil, but then failed to qualify for any of the next five tournaments.
World Cup record of Sweden
Previous World Cup appearances: 12
Last World Cup appearance: 2018
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 19-13-19
Best result: Runners up 1958
Qatar 2022: DNQ
One of the most astonishing stories from qualification, making it all the way to North America despite finishing bottom of their qualifying group with just two draws from six games. Nations League success earned them a spot in the play-offs, where victories over Ukraine and Poland took them to the World Cup.
World Cup record of DR Congo
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Last World Cup appearance: 1974
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-3
Best result: Group stage
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Made their only previous World Cup appearance as Zaire in 1974, which was also Haiti’s only previous World Cup before 2026. Lost all three games without scoring a goal in West Germany, including a 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia which remains the joint heaviest defeat in a World Cup finals.
World Cup record of Iraq
Previous World Cup appearances: 1
Last World Cup appearance: 1986
Overall World Cup record (W-D-L): 0-0-3
Best result: Group stage
Qatar 2022: DNQ
Took the 48th and final place in the World Cup draw by beating Bolivia 2-1 in the second inter-confederation play-off.
