In my first 2 editions, we covered the week before and the week after the October qualifying matches. Heavy favorites like France and Germany were forced to wait to book their final qualification while many other lesser known teams kept their dreams alive. While a long shot, the reason England is the only team confirmed, is that teams like France, Spain and Germany are still mathematically eligible to miss the automatic qualifying.
Let’s break down the situation.

🌍 AFC (Asia) 1 seat left

- Eight nations have already secured their places — Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Qatar — marking the region’s most competitive and balanced showing ever.  

But there’s one seat left at the table. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates meet in November’s Round 5 showdown, with the winner heading to the intercontinental playoff in March 2026.  

🌍 CAF (Africa) automatic bids secured

- Africa already has its nine representatives — Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia — but one last continental playoff will determine who gets a shot at the global stage.  

November’s semifinals pit: Gabon vs. Nigeria and Congo DR vs. Cameroon. The winners face off for a March date in the intercontinental playoff.  

🌎 CONCACAF (North & Central America, Caribbean) 3 seats left-

The co-hosts — Canada, Mexico, and the United States — are already in, leaving three automatic slots and two playoff spots up for grabs.  

Here’s how things look heading into November:

- Group A: Suriname and Panama are neck and neck on six points.

- Group B: Jamaica leads with 9, chased closely by Curaçao.

- Group C: Honduras (8) and Costa Rica (6) are dueling it out.

The three group winners will qualify directly, while the next two best runners-up join the intercontinental playoff.  

🇪🇺 UEFA (Europe) 11 seats left -

Europe is the headline act this November. England became the first to clinch, but the rest of the continent is still a powder keg of possibility.  

Top groups to watch:

- Group D: France should seal it, but Ukraine is lurking.

- Group E: Spain and Turkey separated by just a single point.

- Group F: Portugal cruising, but Hungary needs points.

- Group G: Netherlands and Poland both strong.

- Group I: Norway (perfect so far) and Italy battling for supremacy.

Twelve group winners qualify automatically; the runners-up and four Nations League wildcards will fight it out in March’s UEFA-only playoffs for the final four European spots.  

🇧🇷 CONMEBOL (South America) automatic bids filled -

The heavyweights have spoken. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay have all locked in their tickets.  

The lone spot left? Bolivia, heading to the intercontinental playoff.  It’s heartbreak for Chile, Peru, and Venezuela — all eliminated.  

🌊 OFC (Oceania) automatic bids filled -

New Zealand did what New Zealand always does — dominated the region and qualified. But don’t overlook the story of New Caledonia, which stunned Tahiti to earn a place in the March playoff.  They’re tiny but talented — and could become Oceania’s second-ever nation to reach the global stage.

🗺️ The Road to March: The Intercontinental Playoff Picture FIFA could not let the NCAA March Madness be the spotlight with the World Cup coming to America…When the dust settles in November, we’ll know the full six-team field for March’s high-stakes playoffs:  

The two highest-ranked nations will get byes straight into the finals. The rest fight it out for the last two golden tickets to North America.

Looking towards World Cup 2026 I was having all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings last year as I watched PSG finally get to the promised land and win the champions league. That PSG team is full of young French stars and knowing that they have the experience of a championship season within the champions league will certainly be a strong factor leading into the 2026 World Cup.

Then all of those warm, fuzzy feelings got washed away quickly when this happened.

Whether you believe in curses or not, the reality is that in the history of the World Cup, no defending Ballon d’Or winner has ever gone on the next season to win the World Cup.

There have been several World Cup winners that went on to win the ballon d’Or with legends such as Zidane in 1998 on that list, but the inverse has never happened.

The reality is with the French team is that Dembélé, depending on how he is playing in the spring of 2026, could actually see little playing time as France is blessed with an incredible abundance of young successful strikers, and certainly Mbappé will feature as the center of the front line, leaving only two slots left for Didier Dechamps to support their captain.

If history holds, Mbappé’s brilliance might shine — but France’s trophy hopes could dim.

I have been pouring myself into all the different angles, subplots and oddities about each of the 16 host cities for the 2026 tournament. Many have quirks, and will be particularly painful for international visitors who are used to modern stadiums being well connected with public transit.

Of all the nightmare scenarios, Dallas is the leader when it comes to inaccessibility, cost, comfort and complexity

Issue 1 - The sprawl that is the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex -

The 4th most populous area in the US. over 8 million people. Dallas hosts 9 matches for the World Cup = hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Issue 2 - Lack of metro/tram -

America is a football - the sport with a quarterback and end zones - country. Our largest stadiums are built to accommodate football fans. When old stadiums become too small or obsolete, owners look for more land, bigger spaces to build bigger stadiums. Over the past 2 decades, this has resulted in new stadiums being built outside of the city limits. The reality for this World Cup is that in many cities - Dallas, Miami, Boston, Kansas City and San Francisco - the stadium is not in the host city. And worse, these stadiums are not directly connected to public transportation.

Issue 3 - Heat -

So, you want to stay in Fort Worth to save a bit of money, realize that the commuter rail will get you within several miles so you decide to walk the rest of the way.

The world will not know where they will be going until the official draw Dec. 5th…on that day, if you are planning on attending, you should be praying that your team does not get put into Group F, L or J so you can avoid the Dallas nightmare!!

So yes — if you’re one of the unlucky ones headed for Group F, L, or J territory, brace yourself. The AT&T Stadium experience will test your patience long before kickoff. But it doesn’t have to ruin your World Cup adventure.

We’ve mapped out every viable route, shuttle option, and cooling strategy — from the fastest DFW hotel corridors to the best pre-match hangouts with air-conditioning and real shade.

👉 Explore our full Dallas Fan Survival Guide on WorldCupFanZone.com — or use the Travel Planner to build your own itinerary that will keep you close the the World Cup festivities but doesn’t have to break the bank.

Coming up next week:
- World Cup Slop
- Which teams have the most to win or lose in 26
- Ranking the Host Cities from Best to Worst

Until then, stay cool, stay curious — and maybe start praying your team draws anywhere but Dallas.

If you have any ideas that you would like to me include in future editions, please drop me a line at [email protected]

The man behind the curtain:

Oh, hi — I’m Eric, a football fan and tech enthusiast who loves experimenting with new ideas and tools to build things people actually need (and hopefully enjoy).

I’m an American expat living in France — an unabashed Mbappé and Bleu-Blanc-Rouge 🇫🇷 supporter, excited to see if France can extend their World Cup success… though definitely not looking forward to those 3 a.m. kickoffs