The national teams of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq secured the final spots for the tournament.
MEXICO CITY, April 1. /TASS/. The national squads of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq have become the last participants to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place across the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
In the final match of the intercontinental play-off, the DRC squad defeated Jamaica with a score of 1:0 after extra time. Theo Bongonda, an attacking midfielder for Spartak Moscow who plays for the DRC team, was substituted in the 58th minute and did not record any goal contributions. The Congolese will participate in the World Cup for the second time; their inaugural appearance was at the 1974 finals, where, representing Zaire, they finished last in their group without securing any points against Yugoslavia, Brazil, and Scotland.
In the final of the other bracket, the Iraqi national team triumphed over Bolivia with a 2:1 victory. Bolivian defender Roberto Fernandez of Akron Togliatti played the entire match but failed to make any significant offensive contributions. This will be Iraq’s second appearance at the World Cup; their first participation was in the 1986 tournament, where they finished at the bottom of their group. They were unable to earn a single point against Mexico, Paraguay, and Belgium.
The World Cup is set to run from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. This will be the first time that 48 teams compete in the final stage of the tournament. Since 2022, Russian clubs and national teams have been suspended from competitions organized by both the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Consequently, the Russian national team did not take part in the qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup.
World Cup Group Draw Composition
The DRC national team will compete in Group K alongside Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Colombia. The Iraqi squad has been placed into Quartet I, where they will face teams from France, Senegal, and Norway.
Group A will feature Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, and the Czech Republic; Group B will include Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland; Group C will have Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland; and Group D is composed of the USA, Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. Group E includes Germany, Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ecuador; Group F pits the Netherlands against Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia; Group G features Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand.
Group H will see Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay competing. The reigning world champions, Argentina, are drawn into Group J with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Group L will comprise England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.
The top two teams from each group will advance directly to the Round of 16. Additionally, the eight best third-placed teams from the group stage will also proceed to the next stage.
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