Uzbekistan and Jordan qualify for first ever World Cup with ten teams now confirmed for tournament in North America | OneFootball

Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified for their first ever World Cup, while South Korea have reached the finals for the 11th consecutive time.

Uzbekistan drew 0-0 with the UAE which punched their ticket to the finals next year. South Korea beat Iraq 2-0, meanwhile, which confirmed both their and Jordan’s qualification, who beat Oman 3-0 earlier in the day.

A historical achievement

One of the benefits of an expanded 48-team World Cup is that countries that may never have had the opportunity otherwise get a chance to play on football’s biggest stage.

Uzbekistan only needed one point on their visit to Abu Dhabi to secure their maiden World Cup spot and managed it despite heavy pressure from their opposition.

The ‘White Wolves’, led by Timur Kapadze, achieve a feat that Uzbekistan have been seeking for three decades. They took part in World Cup qualifying for the first time in 1997 after the dissolution of the USSR.

The closest they had come to earning qualification was in 2006 when they faced Bahrain in a two-legged tie to determine who would play Trinidad and Tobago in the subsequent playoff. The winner of that match would then qualify for the World Cup. Trinidad ended up playing England in the group stages.

It was a bizarre tie. With Uzbekistan leading the first leg 1-0, a penalty was awarded to them, but the referee disallowed the resulting goal and gave an indirect free kick to Bahrain for encroachment. Uzbekistan formally requested that they receive an automatic 3-0 victory, instead, the match was annulled and replayed. The replay finished 1-1 and the second leg finished 0-0, meaning Bahrain advanced on away goals.

Jordan have also qualified for the first time on the back of an Ali Olwin hat trick, with King Abdullah II watching on from the embassy in London wearing a national team jersey. Their closest previous attempt was an intercontinental play-off defeat to Uruguay in 2014.

Who else has qualified?

Ten teams out of 48 have already booked their spot. Hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA get automatic qualification. From Asia; Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, South Korea and Japan, Argentina from the Americas and New Zealand from Oceania. Australia, who are part of Asian qualification, have all but qualified after beating Japan 1-0, just having to avoid losing to Saudi Arabia by more than four goals on Tuesday to qualify.

How many spots and for whom?

AFC: Eight direct spots + one Play-Off Tournament place

CAF: Nine direct spots + one Play-Off Tournament place

Concacaf: Six direct spots + two Play-Off Tournament places

CONMEBOL: Six direct spots + one Play-Off Tournament place

OFC: One direct spot + one Play-Off Tournament place

UEFA: 16 direct spots

European qualification will conclude in March 2026 with a 16 team play-off, after the 12 group winners confirm their places in November. The World Cup itself will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in the three North American countries.