In the OFC FIFA Zone – the continental union for Oceania – 11 countries will participate in the World Cup qualifiers. One to two of these countries will qualify for the final round: the 2026 World Cup in North America with a total of 48 national teams participating. The groups and the schedule of the qualification series of the OFC countries for the World Cup, with all matches, dates, and times, are listed here. See also: Draw qualification World Cup 2026.
Qualification OFC for World Cup 2026 | Qualifiers Oceania
The qualifying series in the FIFA zone OFC for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will start in September 2024, and end in March 2025. The World Football Association and the Oceania Football Confederation are still deciding on the exact dates and schedule. In the qualifying zone of Oceania, eleven countries compete for one to two tickets for the World Cup in North America. From the OFC qualifying rounds, one country is guaranteed to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. For one other country from this FIFA Zone, the intercontinental play-offs are scheduled after the qualification phase in the South Pacific.
The format of the World Cup qualifying series in Zone OFC is as follows. There will be a First round, a Second round and a Third round.
OFC Qualifiers First round
In the first round, only the four OFC countries that are lowest in the FIFA Ranking participate. They play in two semi-finals, each consisting of a single match. The two winners of these first two knockouts will advance to the final of Round 1. The winner advances to Round 2, the other three lowest ranked OFC teams are eliminated.
When: September 2024
OFC qualifiers Second round
In the second round, the seven OFC countries that are highest in the FIFA Ranking will start their World Cup football campaign. Together with the winner of Round 1, they form two groups of four teams. They play in their group, against each of the three opponents, both home and away. The top two countries in the final standings of both groups advance to Round 3.
When: October, November 2024
OFC Qualifiers Third round
The third round will consist of the four countries that successfully passed Round 2. Just like in Round 1, Round 3 consists of two semi-finals, played over a single match. Both winners of these knockouts will advance to the final. The overall winner will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The loser will get one last chance: as a contender in the intercontinental World Cup football qualification play-offs.
When: March 2025
Definitely one, perhaps two OFC World Cup football teams in 2026
It is certain that one country from this football continent earns a direct World Cup ticket through several qualifying matches. That guarantee is now available for the first time, in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. Previously, the winner of the OFC qualifying phase ‘only’ received a ticket for the cross-continental World Cup play-offs.
It is also certain that another country that is a member of the Oceania Football Confederation will continue to have a chance at World Cup qualification. That country qualifies for the aforementioned intercontinental play-offs, via the OFC qualifiers. See additional information on the format of those FIFA playoffs further down this page. If the respective delegate from Oceania is successful in this, the total number of countries from OFC that qualify for the 2026 Football World Cup can reach two.
OFC qualification for World Cup football
The schedule and dates of the qualification for the FIFA World Cup in this FIFA Zone are to be confirmed.
As mentioned, from the regular OFC qualifying rounds, one country will directly qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In addition, one country may advance to the cross-continental play-offs.
Extra Round | Intercontinental Playoff | Last possible World Cup ticket for OFC
Note: Australia has been part of FIFA Zone AFC (instead of OFC) since 2006
One country from the FIFA Zone OFC, after the regular qualification phase, will have a second chance in the intercontinental World Cup 2026 qualification play-offs. Six countries are participating in that mini-tournament.
They come from five of the six FIFA confederations: AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), OFC (Oceania), CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean). The European confederation, UEFA, will have no representative at these intercontinental 2026 World Cup play-offs, while CONCACAF will be allowed to field two countries as the upcoming World Cup host.
The six countries compete for the last two (of 48) tickets that entitle them to participate in the World Cup in the three North American countries USA, Canada and Mexico. Including these cross-continental play-offs, the total number of World Cup participants from the FIFA Zone OFC could reach two.
Format cross-intercontinental playoffs
The format of the six-nation inter-confederation play-offs is as follows. The four (of the six) qualified countries that are at that moment lowest in the FIFA Ranking are linked by a draw. The two winners then play against the two countries that (of those six) are highest in the FIFA Ranking. The two winners of those last two games will eventually get the last World Cup tickets.
When: November 2025
Countries qualifying for the 2026 World Cup from OFC, CONCACAF, AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and UEFA
From the FIFA OFC Zone, at least one, at most two countries qualify for the World Cup. The total number of countries during the final round in 2026 is 48. This number is made up as follows.
| AFC | QUALIFY FOR WORLD CUP FOOTBALL 2026 | AVAILABLE SLOTS FIFA CONTINENTS |
|---|---|
| AFC | Minimum 8, maximum 9 countries (possible +1 via intercontinental play-offs) |
| CONCACAF | Minimum 6, maximum 8 countries (possible +2 via intercontinental play-offs) Host countries USA, Canada and Mexico are already automatically qualified |
| CONMEBOL | Minimum 6, maximum 7 countries (possible +1 via intercontinental play-offs) |
| OFC | Minimum 1, maximum 2 countries (possible +1 via intercontinental play-offs) |
| CAF | Minimum 9, maximum 10 countries (possible +1 via intercontinental play-offs) |
| UEFA | 16 countries |
These are the 11 OFC countries participating in the qualification for the 2026 World Cup
The following countries are from the FIFA Zone of The Oceania Football Confederation. No country from the South Pacific region managed to qualify for the last football world championship, in 2022 in Qatar.
- American Samoa
- Cook Island
- Fiji
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tahiti
- Tonga
- Vanuatu
See also: the positions of the OFC teams in the FIFA Ranking.
When is the draw for qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the OFC zone?
Which countries will play against each other in the World Cup qualification on the football continent of Oceania? The exact classification also depends on their position in the FIFA Ranking. For example, the lowest ranked countries will first have to play an extra qualifying round. Furthermore, a draw determines the division of the OFC groups and thus who will play against whom. The date of the draw of the Preliminaries in the OFC Zone is currently unknown. See also: Preliminary Draw World Cup Football.
The previous qualification – for the 2022 World Cup – in the Zone OFC
Plagued by postponements and cancellations, mostly due to Covid-19, OFC qualification for the previous World Cup, in 2022 in Qatar, was chaotic and different than before. In the end, eight of the eleven OFC countries took part in two qualifying groups on neutral ground (Qatar), following withdrawals from American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga. This left these eight OFC FIFA countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tahiti.
During that qualification tournament, Vanuatu also dropped out. In the previous World Cup qualifying series, the two teams that finished highest in their group proceeded to the semi-finals. In there, the Solomon Islands beat Papua New Guinea and New Zealand beat Tahiti. Both winners played in the qualifying finals for a place in the FIFA inter-confederation play-off. New Zealand triumphed against the Solomon Islands (5-0) and was therefore allowed to participate in the intercontinental battle for the last World Cup tickets.
The representative from Oceania was drawn against Costa Rica, the representative from FIFA Zone CONCACAF. Costa Rica defeated New Zealand (1-0). That meant that no country from FIFA Zone OFC was present at the World Cup final round in Qatar.
Note: unlike the qualifying series for previous World Cups, the FIFA Zone OFC (Oceania) is guaranteed to have at least one delegate at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The information on this page is based on the official information from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), current and subject to possible changes.
