​The 2026 World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams offers a chance to compare how many teams from each confederation reached the round of 32, using the 2022 World Cup as a baseline. Since the round of 32 equals the total number of teams in 2022, this comparison highlights which regions were undervalued in the past and which benefited most from the old format. Based on 2026 group-stage results, CAF (Africa) recorded the largest gain. In 2022, five African teams qualified; in 2026, nine reached the knockout rounds, a net increase of four. Even more striking, 10 CAF teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup, meaning 90% of Africa’s qualified teams advanced to the round of 32.
Next is CONMEBOL (South America), which had four teams in 2022 but five made the 2026 round of 32. These were the only two confederations to improve their share. CONCACAF, the confederation for the United States, Mexico, and Canada (the co-hosts), had four teams in 2022; this year, only the three hosts progressed to the knockout stage. The AFC (Asia) experienced the sharpest decline, with six teams in 2022 but four fewer reaching the round of 32 in 2026, leaving only Australia and Japan. UEFA (Europe) saw no change, with 13 teams qualifying in both 2022 and 2026. Oceania had a single representative in 2026, New Zealand, but that team did not reach the round of 32.
Overall, the results suggest CAF may have deserved more World Cup spots in prior editions. CAF has generally fielded between 53 and 54 teams in its qualifiers across the past three tournaments, a pool similar in size to UEFA, which has had 54 or 55 teams in its qualifiers. No other confederation has had more than 46. CAF has long been a major force in men’s soccer. Notable moments include Ballon d’Or winner George Weah (the father of U.S. winger Timothy Weah) for Liberia in 1995, the confederation’s two U-20 World Cup titles, and Cameroon’s Olympic gold in 2000. No African nation has won the senior men’s World Cup title. As of June 30, CAF’s round-of-32 results have been mixed: Morocco defeated the Netherlands on penalties, while South Africa and Ivory Coast were eliminated in their matches. The remaining teams yet to play in the round of 32 were Algeria, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, and Senegal.
Source notes: Confederation counts for 2022 and the 2026 round of 32 come from FIFA. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY under the headline African nations made the most of World Cup expansion.