With the final qualifiers having just taken place for this summers European Championships and Copa America, it's easy to miss that some nations are already out of the running for the 2026 World Cup. I think we've done this before, keeping an idea on nations as they get knocked out. In this post I'll bring things up to date, and then keep track going forward.
17th October 2023
The first eliminations occurred in Asia. The first round of qualifying saw the twenty lowest ranked nations meet in two legged ties, with the losers eliminated. I think this is the correct order, as far as I can tell from kick off times:
211 Guam - lost to Singapore
210 Mongolia - lost to Afghanistan
209 Cambodia - lost to Pakistan
208 Timor Leste - lost to Chinese Taipei
207 Sri Lanka - lost to Yemen
206 Macau - lost to Malaysia
205 Maldives - lost to Bangladesh
204 Bhutan - lost to Hong Kong
203 Laos - lost to Nepal
202 Brunei - lost to Indonesia
10th November 2023
The next elimination was unexpected, coming a couple of days before the start of qualifiers in Africa.
201 Eritrea - withdrew
26th March 2024
Yesterday saw five further eliminations in Asia. The second round consists of nine groups of four, each of which will advance two sides to round three. After four matches, the following nations are now eliminated:
200 Chinese Taipei - defeat to Kyrgyzstan means third is the best they can do
199 Hong Kong - defeat to Uzbekistan left them on the brink, with elimination guaranteed when Iran won their match a little later
198 Turkmenistan - their defeat to Iran condemned both themselves and Hong Kong to elimination
197 Pakistan - out of the running following defeat by Jordan
196 Nepal - eliminated following defeat to Bahrain
The first on field eliminations outside of Asia also occurred yesterday. The first round in CONCACAF was similar to that in Asia, with the lowest ranked teams playing off in order to advance to a group stage. However, here there were only two nations eliminated (both on penalties):
195 US Virgin Islands - lost to British Virgin Islands
194 Turks & Caicos Islands - lost to Anguilla
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next eleven eliminations are expected in June. This will see a return to Asia, when their Second Round plays out its closing two rounds of matches.
17th October 2023
The first eliminations occurred in Asia. The first round of qualifying saw the twenty lowest ranked nations meet in two legged ties, with the losers eliminated. I think this is the correct order, as far as I can tell from kick off times:
211 Guam - lost to Singapore
210 Mongolia - lost to Afghanistan
209 Cambodia - lost to Pakistan
208 Timor Leste - lost to Chinese Taipei
207 Sri Lanka - lost to Yemen
206 Macau - lost to Malaysia
205 Maldives - lost to Bangladesh
204 Bhutan - lost to Hong Kong
203 Laos - lost to Nepal
202 Brunei - lost to Indonesia
10th November 2023
The next elimination was unexpected, coming a couple of days before the start of qualifiers in Africa.
201 Eritrea - withdrew
26th March 2024
Yesterday saw five further eliminations in Asia. The second round consists of nine groups of four, each of which will advance two sides to round three. After four matches, the following nations are now eliminated:
200 Chinese Taipei - defeat to Kyrgyzstan means third is the best they can do
199 Hong Kong - defeat to Uzbekistan left them on the brink, with elimination guaranteed when Iran won their match a little later
198 Turkmenistan - their defeat to Iran condemned both themselves and Hong Kong to elimination
197 Pakistan - out of the running following defeat by Jordan
196 Nepal - eliminated following defeat to Bahrain
The first on field eliminations outside of Asia also occurred yesterday. The first round in CONCACAF was similar to that in Asia, with the lowest ranked teams playing off in order to advance to a group stage. However, here there were only two nations eliminated (both on penalties):
195 US Virgin Islands - lost to British Virgin Islands
194 Turks & Caicos Islands - lost to Anguilla
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next eleven eliminations are expected in June. This will see a return to Asia, when their Second Round plays out its closing two rounds of matches.
Comment