Four-time World Cup champions Italy will miss the 2026 tournament after losing on penalties in a stunner to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Gli Azzurri took an early lead off of Moise Kean's 15th-minute finish, but couldn't capitalize on other chances to go further ahead. Haris Tabaković played the spoiler, leveling for Bosnia in the 79th minute. Italy failed to deliver on spot kicks, losing 4-1 in that round.

England's last game before the end of the 2025-26 club season saw them lose 1-0 at home to Japan in a friendly on Tuesday. Thomas Tuchel made 10 changes to the side that started their 1-1 draw with Uruguay last Friday, slotting in most of his preferred players that are expected to go to the World Cup - minus the unfit Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham - but they produced a disjointed performances that raised further questions over their chances of glory this summer.

GOAL breaks down all the confirmed qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, plus the teams who could soon be on their way.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Lionel Messi 'completed football' by leading Argentina to glory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It was a joy for every neutral to see the Barcelona legend finally lift the one trophy that had eluded him for so long, capping an amazing career that will almost certainly never be emulated.

The Neymar chants began just moments after Hugo Ekitike put France 2-0 up on Brazil at the Gillette Stadium. It was the last thing Carlo Ancelotti would have wanted to hear, but probably the first thing he would have expected in the circumstances. The Italian's decision to leave out the Selecao's all-time leading goalscorer from his latest squad had dominated the build-up to Thursday's high-profile friendly in Foxborough.

After a 36-year wait, Argentina returned to the summit of world football with their 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar. Though he didn’t feature, Sergio Aguero told GOAL it remains one of the greatest moments of his life, while backing the current squad to carry that same hunger, identity, and competitive edge into the 2026 tournament.

You cannot fault Thomas Tuchel when it comes to honesty. This is a coach who said on national radio that his mother finds star player Jude Bellingham "repulsive", who told England fans at Wembley off for being "silent" in a friendly against Wales and said Bukayo Saka's goal tally for the Three Lions, the highest of any Arsenal player in history, was not good enough.

So here we are again, Tottenham Hotspur. Seven games into the Igor Tudor reign that was supposed to save Spurs from relegation, they look more doomed than ever before. They are one point outside the Premier League's bottom three and are the only side without a win in the top-flight in 2026. Every time they seem to have turned a corner, a new disaster is waiting for them just ahead.