World Cup draw 2026: Which Middle East and North Africa teams qualified? Who will they play?

A record number of teams from the Middle East and North Africa have qualified for the 23rd FIFA World Cup, which will take place in the US, Canada and Mexico from 11 June 2026.

Following the draw in Washington on Friday, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia now know their opponents in the initial group stages.

In addition, Turkey, who play in Europe, and Iraq are hoping to book their slots via the play-offs in March 2026.

The finals kick off with the first match at the Mexico City Stadium on Thursday, 11 June 2026.

The final itself will take place on Sunday, 19 July at the New Jersey Stadium.

The previous World Cup, held in Qatar in 2022, involved 32 teams, lasted 29 days and consisted of 64 matches.

But the 2026 tournament will involve 48 teams, last 39 days and include 104 matches across 16 host cities: two in Canada, three in Mexico and 11 in the US.

Kick-offs will also be later, given how North America is several hours behind Europe and the Middle East.

The finalists will be divided into 12 groups of four teams (named A-L). The top two teams from each group, and the eight best third-placed teams, then enter the 32-team knockout stage.

The top four-ranked teams – Spain, Argentina, France and England – have been seeded so that they cannot meet until the semi-finals.

The first team from MENA to compete in the finals was Egypt, in Italy in 1934. Fast-forward 88 years, and five teams from the region appeared in the finals, including hosts Qatar.

The expansion of the tournament has ensured that the largest number of teams from the Middle East and North Africa have qualified for this year’s tournament in the competition's 96-year history.

And while 42 teams, including the three host nations, have secured berths, the final six will be decided in play-offs next spring.

Below, MEE looks at who has qualified, in order of the FIFA rankings used for the draw and who they play next summer.

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Morocco

Fifa ranking: 11/210  Most recent finals: 2022  Appearances: 7, also co-hosts in 2030  Nickname: The Atlas Lions  More: Equipe du Maroc

Expectations will be high for Morocco at next year’s finals. In 2022, the Atlas Lions finished fourth in Qatar amid widespread acclaim, beating Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal before losing to eventual winners France in the semi-finals.

It was not the first time Morocco had gone further than expected: in 1986, their second finals appearance, they only went out to an 88th-minute goal against eventual finalists West Germany in the last 16.

Morocco qualified with a perfect record of 24 points from eight games under manager Walid Regragui, a former international himself, who was appointed only three months before the 2022 finals.

At the time of writing, Morocco hold the all-time record for the longest winning streak in international football, with a run of 18 matches from June 2024 until November 2025.

The team is usually captained by the Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, the current African Footballer of the Year. Other stars include Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid) and Hakim Ziyech (Galatasaray).

For more than a decade, Morocco has made football a national priority, hosting the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations later this month and co-hosting the centennial World Cup in 2030 with Spain and Portugal. And in October, it defeated six-time champions Argentina 2-0 to win the U-20 World Cup title in Chile.

Morocco: World Cup Finals group

Morocco have been drawn in Group C with Brazil (5), Scotland (36) and Haiti (84).

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Iran

Fifa ranking: 20/210  Most recent finals: 2022  Appearances: 7  Nickname: Team Melli (Persian for National Team)  More: Team Melli

Iran are one of the more consistent Asian qualifiers for the World Cup Finals: 2026 marks their seventh appearance since their first in 1978.

Team Melli’s most famous victory at the finals was in France 1998, when they beat the US 2-1 in a match credited with helping relations amid political tensions.

At Qatar 2022, Iran lost 6-2 against England after their goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand suffered a concussion, before beating Wales 2-0 and losing to the US 1-0. Many fans refused to sing the national anthem before matches amid anti-government protests in Iran at the time.

Currently 20th in the FIFA World Rankings, Iran were one of the first nations to qualify for the finals in March 2025 (albeit with a shaky disciplinary record). During qualification, they topped both their second- and third-round qualifying groups, with Olympiacos striker Mehdi Taremi their top scorer.

But Iran's failure to retain the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup for Central Asian nations in September 2025 has led to calls for the dismissal of manager Amir Ghalenoei.

Off the pitch, Iranian supporters may face issues entering the US for next year’s finals.

Iran: World Cup Finals group

Iran have been drawn in Group G with Belgium (8), Egypt (34) and New Zealand (86).

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Egypt

Fifa ranking: 34/210  Most recent finals: 2018  Appearances: 4  Nickname: The Pharaohs  More: Egyptnt

When Egypt qualified for the World Cup Finals in Italy in 1934 (secured with a 7-1 play-off win over Mandatory Palestine in Cairo), they became the first Middle Eastern nation to participate in the tournament. But nine decades on, they have still to win a game or progress from the group stages.

In Russia in 2018, the Pharaohs finished bottom of a group that included the hosts and Saudi Arabia, despite a post-injury Mohammed Salah scoring twice during their three defeats.

Egypt missed out on qualifying for Qatar 2022 after losing to Senegal in a play-off penalty shootout amid accusations of racism and bad behaviour, including targeting Salah with laser pointers, by Senegalese fans.

For next year’s tournament, Egypt qualified by easily topping their group with 26 points from 10 games. It included a six-goal hammering of Djibouti, during which Salah netted a hat-trick to become Africa’s all-time scorer during World Cup qualification.

Other key squad members include Omar Marmoush (Manchester City) and Mohamed Abdelmonem of Nice. The current coach is Egypt’s all-time top scorer Hossam Hassan, who himself played at the finals in Italy in 1990.

Egypt: World Cup Finals group

Egypt have been drawn in Group G with Belgium (8), Iran (20) and New Zealand (86).

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Algeria

Fifa ranking: 35/210  Most recent finals: 2014  Previous finals: 5  Nickname: Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes)  More: Lesverts.faf

After a 12-year absence, Algeria are back at the World Cup Finals, topping their qualifying group undefeated with 25 points from 10 games under Bosnian manager Vladimir Petkovic.

At Brazil in 2014, their last finals, Algeria only went out in extra time to Germany, the eventual winners of the tournament (West Germany also infamously contrived to send Algeria home following the scandalous "Disgrace of Gijon" in 1982).

The top scorer during qualification was Mohamed Amoura, who plays for Wolfsburg in Germany’s Bundesliga. Other names to watch include Riyad Mahrez, who plays for Al Ahli in the Saudi Professional League and Ismael Bennacer, a defender with Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb.

Among Algeria's squad will likely be Luca Zidane, goalkeeper with Granada in Spain's second division. The son of French 1998 World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, he played for France earlier in his career before switching to Algeria, the country of his grandparents’ birth, earlier this year.

Algeria: World Cup Finals group

Algeria have been drawn in Group J with Argentina (2), Austria (24) and Jordan (66).

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Tunisia

Fifa ranking: 40/210  Most recent finals: 2022  Appearances: 7  Nickname: Les Aigles de Carthage (The Carthage Eagles)  More: Federation Tunisienne de Football

While Tunisia have qualified for the World Cup Finals on six previous occasions, they have yet to progress beyond the group stages, and have only won twice in 18 games. But what wins!

At Argentina 1978, the Eagles were 1-0 down at half-time to Mexico before a dazzling second-half saw them win 3-1, the first victory by an Arab or African team in the finals' history.

And at Qatar in 2022, they secured a famous 1-0 win against eventual finalists (and former colonial occupier) France, with Wahbi Khazri scoring in the 58th minute.

To qualify for next year’s tournament, Tunisia took 28 points from 10 games, without conceding a goal; more recently, they drew 1-1 with Brazil after taking the lead.

Tunisia are coached by Sami Trabelsi, who captained the team at the World Cup in France in 1998 (he previously managed the team from 2011 -2013). Key squad members include Ali Abdi at Nice, Ismael Gharbi at FC Augsburg and Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley).

Tunisia: World Cup Finals group

Tunisia have been drawn in Group F with Netherlands (7), Japan (18) and the winner of Play-off B [eventual winner from Ukraine (28) vs Sweden (43) and Poland (31) vs Albania (63)].

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Qatar

Fifa ranking: 51/210  Most recent/previous: 2, including hosts in 2022  Nickname: Al-Annabi (The Maroon)  More: Qatar Football Association

Qatar hosted the previous World Cup and set an ignominious record – that of being the worst host in the tournament’s history, losing all their matches and only scoring once, in the 78th minute, during their 3-1 defeat to Senegal.

But much has improved since. In 2024, they defeated Jordan 3-1 in the final of the AFC Asian Cup, held in Qatar (they previously won the title in 2019 in the UAE).

Qatar are coached by Julen Lopetegui, the former Spanish national coach who was infamously fired just days before Russia 2018 when it was announced he would manage Real Madrid after the tournament (he only lasted two months at Los Blancos, and six months at each of Wolves and West Ham, although he won the UEFA Europa League with Sevilla).

To reach next summer's finals, Qatar beat the UAE 2-1 in the fourth round of qualification. Pre-match, there were complaints that staging the three-team tournament in Qatar gave the hosts an unfair advantage (similar accusations were also levelled against Saudi Arabia, who also qualified from their fourth-round group).

The match was marred by a pitch invasion and violence as visiting Emirati fans fought with security and Qatari players.

All of Qatar’s squad play their club football in the kingdom. Notable players include Sudanese-born Almoez Ali, Qatar’s all-time top scorer, and Akram Afif, who has twice been named Asian Footballer of the Year.

Qatar: World Cup Finals group

Qatar have been drawn in Group B with Canada (27), Switzerland (17) and the winner of Play-off A [eventual winner from Italy (12) vs Northern Ireland (69) and Wales (32) vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (71)]

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Saudi Arabia

Fifa ranking: 60/210  Most recent finals: 2022  Appearances: 7, also hosts in 2034  Nickname: The Green Falcons  More: Saudi Arabia National Football

Saudi Arabia’s World Cup qualification campaign got off to a shaky start, including defeats against Jordan, Indonesia and Japan. Nor did it help to be beaten 3-2 at home by Bahrain.

Out went manager Roberto Mancini, who guided Manchester City to Premier League glory. Back came Herve Renard. who had managed the team from 2019 – 2023, including their appearance at Qatar 2022, when they exited in the group stages.

However, they did at least deliver one of the tournament's shocks, securing a 2-1 second-half defeat of Lionel Messi's Argentina, who would go on to be crowned world champions.

A year later and World Cup qualification was assured after they defeated Indonesia and drew with Iraq in the controversial fourth-round qualification tournament, held in the kingdom.

The Green Falcons have now qualified for the finals for the seventh time since their debut at USA 1994.

That appearance also saw one of the most spectacular goals of any World Cup, when Saudi Arabia faced Belgium and Saeed al-Owairan ran from his own half, evading Belgian after Belgian before sliding the ball past goalkeeper Michel Preud'homme from just outside the six-yard box.

Most of the squad, including highly rated central midfielder Musab Al Juwair play in the Saudi Professional League.

In December 2024, the kingdom was selected to host the 2034 World Cup Finals.

Saudi Arabia: World Cup Finals group and fixtures

Saudi Arabia have been drawn in Group H with Spain (1), Uruguay (16) and Cape Verde (68).

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Jordan

Fifa ranking: 66/210  Most recent/previous finals: None  Nickname: Al Nashama (The Brave)  More: Jordan Football Association

Jordan celebrated long into the night after they qualified for their first World Cup Finals in June 2025, as social media filled with images of King Abdullah II, wearing a team shirt, watching the decisive 3-0 win against Oman.

Much of their success has been credited to Moroccan manager Jamal Sellami, who took over from fellow countryman Hussein Ammouta in June 2024.

In qualification, Jordan narrowly edged out Iraq to qualify second in their third-round group behind South Korea.

Top scorer in qualification was Ali Olwan, who plays for Iraq Stars League club Al-Karma. Other notables include Musa Al Tamari at Rennes and Yazan Al-Arab, a centre-back with  FC Seoul in the Korean K League 1

Jordan: World Cup Finals group

Jordan have been drawn in Group J with Algeria (35), Argentina (2), and Austria (24).

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What about Turkey and Iraq?

It's still possible for Turkey and Iraq to qualify for the finals through play-off matches next spring.

Turkey

Fifa ranking: 25/210  Most recent finals: 2002  Appearance: 2, also in play-offs for 2026  Nickname: Ay-Yıldızlılar ("The Crescent-Stars", although Bizim Cocuklar, which means "Our Boys", is becoming popular)  More: Turkish National Football

Turkish football needs a diversion, having been rocked by a gambling scandal in the past few weeks, which has seen more than 1,000 players suspended and at least 100 banned from its top two divisions.

For many fans, qualifying for the finals for the first time in more than two decades would offer more than welcome respite.

The last time Turkey did so, in South Korea and Japan in 2002, they set the tournament alight and came third, only going out against eventual winners Brazil in the semi-finals.

Along the way, they scored 10 goals, most famously one by Hakan Sukur in 10.89 seconds in the third-placed playoff.

For next year's finals, they came second during qualification in a four-team group, won by Spain. Their current coach is former Italian international Vincenzo Montella, under who they reached the quarter finals of UEFA Euro 2024.

Turkey are in Play-off C. To qualify, Turkey now need to beat Romania (47), who they host, on 26 March; then beat the winners of Slovakia (45) vs Kosovo (80) away on 31 March.

Turkey: Potential World Cup Finals group

If Turkey qualify, then they will be in Group D with USA (14), Australia (25) and Paraguay (39).

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Iraq

Fifa ranking: 58/210 | Most recent finals: Mexico 1986 | Appearances: 1, in play-offs for 2026 | Nickname: Lions of Mesopotamia  More: Iraq National Team

Iraq have only appeared once before at the World Cup Finals, in Mexico in 1986, when they lost all three games to Belgium, Paraguay and hosts Mexico.

It was the era when the team answered to Uday Hussein, son of the country’s dictator, who sacked five managers in one year, four of whom were Brazilian.

Forty years later, and the Lions of Mesopotamia have so far played 21 games in their qualification campaign, culminating in a 2-1 victory over the UAE thanks to a 107th-minute penalty in Basra.

Iraq are currently in Play-off 2. They only need to beat the winners of Bolivia (76) vs Suriname (123) to take their place at next year’s finals.

Much of their success has been attributed to Australian coach Graham Arnold, who guided his home side to the last 16 in Qatar in 2022, only exiting amid a 2-1 defeat by eventual winners Argentina.

Iraq: Potential World Cup Finals group

If Iraq qualify, then they will be in Group I with France (3), Senegal (19) and Norway (29).