For the first ever, the World Cup will have at least one team from all six international confederations, making it a truly global event. Football (soccer) is played in most countries on Earth, anyway.

World Cup football matches are must-watch events, garnering attention around the world, in person, on television, and online. When nations compete against one another on the world stage, it's national pride and reputation on the line. Other sports feature all around the world, but football is unique in its having the World Cup, pitting the world's best against one another in a winner-take-all event that has one sports has its focus. Only the Olympics come close in terms of global appeal.

The World Cup began in 1930 and occurs every four years. That first World Cup was an opt-in situation: nations sent teams if they chose to, and 13 nations chose to do so. The 1930 event was the only one without qualifying tournaments. Since then, every nation participating has qualified. The previous World Cup was in Qatar, in 2022. Argentina defeated France to win it all.

Below is a breakdown of participating nations by confederation.

The African teams taking part are Algeria, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.

Star players to watch:

• In 2022, Morocco's Achraf Hakimi led his team to its highest-ever finish, fourth. It was the best finish by an African team in the Wold Cup. He plays for Paris Saint-Germain, in the French league.
• One of the stars for Senegal is Sadio Mané (right), well-known for his exploits on the pitch through the years. He now plays in the Saudi Arabia premier league.

Asia
AFC, the Asian confederation, has 46 nations. Those nations competed in five rounds of qualifying, and the top finishers then advanced to a final round. The nine nations representing the AFC in the 2026 FIFA World Cup are Australia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Joran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.

Star players to watch:

• Ritsu Doan is a star of the Japanese team. He plays for Freilburg, in the German premier league.
• South Korea's Son Heung-min (right) is his team's captain and one of Asia's all-time greats. Well-known in the English Premier League, he plays for Tottenham Hotspur.

Europe
The largest contingent is from UEFA, the European confederation, which is sending 16 teams: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.

The 54 teams in UEFA played qualifying in 10 groups. The winners of each group advanced automatically, and the other six advanced via a qualifying tournament.

Star players to watch:

• England's Jude Bellingham plays for Real Madrid in Spain's premiere league.
• Erling Haaland (right) of Norway will play in his first-ever World Cup. He plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League and has scored 55 goals in 48 matches for his home country.

North America
The North & Central America and Caribbean confederation, CONCACAF, is sending six of its 41 teams: Canada, Curacao, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, and the United States. Co-hosts Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. qualified automatically; the other three teams won their groups in qualifying.

Star players to watch:

• Alphonso Davies of Canada is known for his on-field speed. He can be seen dashing and darting on the pitch representing Bayern Munich, in the German premier league.
• Perhaps the most well-known American player is Christian Pulisic (right), who plays for AC Milan, in Italy.

Oceania
For the time ever, the World Cup granted OFC, the Oceanic confederation, a direct qualifying slot. The winning nation of the 11-nation qualifying knockout round was New Zealand. The team captain and all-time leading scorer is Chris Wood (left), who scored nine goals in the qualifying competitions. One of only six Kiwis ever to play in the English Premier League, he wears the jersey of Nottingham Forest.

South America
CONMEBOL, the South American confederation, is sending six of its 10 teams: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay. They were the top finishers among the 10-team league, the qualifying for which was a series of two matches against other team (one home and one away).

Star players to watch:

• One of the most widely known players, Argentina's Lionel Messi will look to defend his home country's title. He has played for many teams in his pro career and now plays for Inter Milan.
• One of the most exciting young players is Vinícius Júnior (right) of Brazil. He is a star on Spain's Real Madrid team.