2026 World Cup: List Of Eliminated Teams From Each Continent So Far

The group stage of the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup has ended, with 16 countries eliminated and 32 teams advancing to the knockout stage.

Naija News reports that the tournament, expanded from 32 to 48 teams, gave more countries the opportunity to compete on football’s biggest stage.

However, several nations have now seen their World Cup campaigns come to an end after failing to progress from the group stage.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) suffered the biggest disappointment, with seven of its nine representatives eliminated.

Only Australia and Japan progressed to the Round of 32.

The AFC teams eliminated are:

• South Korea
• Qatar
• Iraq
• Iran
• Jordan
• Uzbekistan
• Saudi Arabia

Africa records strong outing

Africa produced one of its strongest World Cup group-stage performances, with eight of its nine representatives qualifying for the knockout round.

However, South Africa became the second African country to exit after suffering a 1-0 defeat to co-hosts Canada in the Round of 32. This makes only seven teams from the continent progressing to the knockout stage.

The CAF team eliminated is:

• Tunisia

Europe loses three teams

Europe remains the best-represented confederation in the Round of 32 after losing only three of its record 16 teams.

The UEFA teams eliminated are:

• Scotland
• Czechia
• Türkiye

CONCACAF loses three teams

Three countries from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football also exited the tournament.

The CONCACAF teams eliminated are:

• Haiti
• Cape Verde
• Panama

The United States, Canada and Mexico remain in the competition as CONCACAF’s surviving representatives.

South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) once again impressed, with five of its six teams advancing beyond the group stage.

The CONMEBOL team eliminated is:

• Uruguay

Oceania’s only representative, New Zealand, also failed to reach the knockout stage.

The OFC team eliminated is:

• New Zealand

With 32 teams still in contention, UEFA leads the remaining field with 13 nations, followed by CAF with eight, CONMEBOL with five, CONCACAF with three and AFC with two.

The race for the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy now continues in the knockout stage.