The men’s national football team of the U.S., along with those of Mexico and Canada, will automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.

The three countries won the right to host the World Cup in a united North American bid.

FIFA historically has given host nations the right to play in the World Cup without going through the usual qualification tournaments.

But this is the first time FIFA had to set aside three host bids, with the tournament billed to expand from 32 teams to 48 in 2026.

Another three berths will now be awarded to CONCACAF nations via qualifying.

“In addition, the FIFA Council confirmed that, in line with the long-standing tradition of having all hosts competing at the FIFA World Cup, as well as sporting and operational considerations, the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Canada, Mexico and the USA, will qualify automatically for the final round of the competition,” said FIFA in a statement on Tuesday.

It added, “Their slots will therefore be deducted from the overall allocation of six assigned to CONCACAF.”

While the U.S. and Mexico tend to qualify for most World Cups, it was good news for Canada.

Their men’s national team broke a 36-year drought between World Cup appearances when it qualified for Qatar 2022.

Canada, however, lost all three of its group-stage matches.

The FIFA Council also determined its timetable for bidding for the right to host the 2030 World Cup, saying it will make its decision next year.

That meeting will be separate from FIFA’s meeting to select a host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which will be held first, earlier in 2024.

There are three confirmed bids for 2030 hosting duties. These are a South American joint bid featuring Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile; a Spain-Portugal joint bid that added war-torn Ukraine last year; and a lone-country bid from Morocco.

(Reuters/NAN)