2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

The Oceanian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process is expected to take place from September 2024 to March 2025. The 2026 tournament is the 16th edition of Oceanian qualifiers and marks the first time OFC has a direct qualification slot into the FIFA World Cup.

Format
The qualification structure is as follows:
 * First round: The four lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA Men's World Rankings will play a three-match knockout round in September 2024. The winner will advance to the second round.
 * Second round: The winning team from the first round will join the seven highest-ranked teams in two four-team groups in October and November 2024. The top two teams from each group will advance to the third round.
 * Third round: The four teams advancing from the second round will play a three-match knockout round in March 2025 with the winner qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and the runner-up advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants
All eleven eligible OFC nations have entered qualification.


 * 🇨🇰 cook islands
 * 🇳🇨 new caledonia
 * 🇳🇿 new zealand
 * 🇵🇬 papua new guinea
 * 🇳🇿 new zealand
 * 🇵🇬 papua new guinea

Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows. The inter-confederation play-offs will be scheduled to be played in March 2026.

Draw
The draw for the first two rounds was held at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland on 18 July from 9:00 CEST (UTC+2). Although announced prior to their official release, the seeding for the draw was based on the FIFA Men's World Rankings of 18 July 2024 (shown in parentheses below).

For the first round, the four lowest-ranked teams will compete in a single-elimination play-off to determine which team advances to the second round. The highest-ranked team will face the lowest-ranked team and the second-ranked team will face the third-ranked team in the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches will face each other in the final.

For the second round, each group contains one team from Pot 1, two from Pot 2 and one from Pot 3 (which also included a placeholder for the first round winner).

First round
First round matches will be played 7–10 September 2024 in Samoa. The four lowest-ranked teams will compete in a knockout series, and the winner will advance to join the seven highest-ranked teams in the second round.

Final
The winner advances to the second round.

Second round
The second round will take place from 7 October to 19 November 2024 with two groups of four teams playing each other once in a league format. Matches will be played in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu.

Third round
The third round is expected to take place March 2025. The winner will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the runner-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Final
The winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The loser advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Inter-confederation play-offs
The runner up team will join one team each from AFC, CAF, and CONMEBOL and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.