The field of 48 has been thinned to 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but which continental confederations suffered the most exits?
The new and expanded FIFA World Cup saw 48 teams compete in the Group Stage of the tournament for the first time.
The number of eliminated teams remains the same at 16, with the knockout stages now featuring a Round of 32. Let’s take a look at how the expanded World Cup impacted each continental confederation.
Asia lost seven of their nine World Cup participants
The AFC had nine berths at the 2026 World Cup, with seven teams exiting in the Group Stage. These include South Korea, Qatar, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia. Only Australia and Japan remain in the hunt from the AFC.
The CONCACAF lost three of their six representatives with Haiti, Cape Verde, and Panama exiting, leaving the three host countries (USA, Canada, Mexico) as the sole representatives from the continent.
UEFA had 16 berths at the World Cup and had a great showing, with only three being eliminated (Scotland, Czechia, Turkiye). They have the most remaining teams in the World Cup as well.
South America and Africa have strong showings at the World Cup
Three confederations saw only one team be eliminated from the Group Stage. It starts with the only representative from Oceania, New Zealand, who will not advance to the knockout rounds.
The African contingent from the CAF was the second-largest after UEFA with nine berths, and only one country failed to advance past the group stage (Tunisia). They have the second-most remaining teams in the World Cup.
South America’s CONMEBOL gets just six spots, but five of them are still alive in the tournament, with the sole exit coming from Uruguay.
The next round will have 16 more teams sent home, starting with South Africa vs. Canada tonight, guaranteeing CAF or CONCACAF will lose one more representative by tomorrow.
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