It will be held in Washington at 1 a.m. on December 6. At that time, 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups. The top two in each group and the third place in the 8 best groups will advance to the top 32. There will be a new 1/16 final in the knockout round.

European zone: 4 seats left

12 direct teams: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Scotland

16 European play-off teams and brackets:

First pot: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine Netherlands

Second pot: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia

Third pot: Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo

Fourth pot: Sweden, Romania, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland

In March next year, 16 teams will be divided into 4 groups for a single elimination round, and the final winner (4 teams) will advance to the World Cup.

Africa Zone:

9 qualifying teams: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde (for the first time in history), South Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal

1 intercontinental play-off team: Democratic Republic of the Congo Results

Asia:

8 qualifying teams: Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan (first time in history), Jordan (first time in history), Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

1 intercontinental play-off team: Iraq

South America:

6 qualifying teams: Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay

1 intercontinental play-off team: Bolivia

Central and North America and the Caribbean:

6 qualifying teams: the United States (host), Canada (host), Mexico (host), Panama, Curacao (for the first time in history), Haiti

2 teams participating in the intercontinental play-offs: Suriname and Jamaica participate in the intercontinental play-offs.

Oceania:

1 qualifying team: New Zealand

1 intercontinental play-off team: New Caledonia

Intercontinental play-off: 2 seats left

6 participating teams: Bolivia, New Caledonia , Democratic Congo, Iraq, Suriname, and Jamaica

In March next year, the four teams with the lowest world rankings (updated on November 19) among the above six teams will compete in the semifinals. The winner will play with the two higher-ranked teams to determine two tickets for the United States, Canada, and Mexico World Cup.