The decision to expand the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 was met with scepticism in some corners and derision in others.
Increased player workload and the supposed dilution of the tournament were the two strongest arguments against expansion, but it has given a number of teams a path back to football's biggest event such as Scotland, Norway and Austria, and has given others the opportunity to feature in a World Cup for the first time.
Below, we look at the teams who'll make their debuts at the 2026 World Cup.
Uzbekistan
AFC teams were given a little additional help in reaching the World Cup, with the top two teams from three groups reaching the Finals, as opposed to the top two from two groups.
But Uzbekistan would have arguably made a 32-team tournament. They finished tied with Iran on 14 points in the second round and came second in a group with Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to secure a first-ever World Cup spot.
Timur Kapadze, however, won't be leading the side in North America, with the UFA selection Fabio Cannavaro to take charge for the tournament.
Jordan
Jordan topped their qualifying group in the second round of AFC qualifying, finding themselves drawn alongside South Korea and Iraq amongst three others in the third round.
Earning a point in Suwon against South Korea while capitalising on Iraq's slip-ups meant Jordan had qualified with a game to spare, rendering the 1-0 defeat to Iraq in the final group game irrelevant.
Cape Verde
Cape Verde didn't even try and qualify for a World Cup until the 21st century having gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
A win in the penultimate game against Libya would have seen them through, and despite fighting back from 3-1 down to level the game at 3-3, they were denied a gilt-edged chance at the death by a highly contentious linesman's flag.
Not that it mattered in the end; their 3-0 win over Eswatini saw them top through group to reach the World Cup.
Iceland were the only nation smaller than Cape Verde when they qualified, though Curacao have now overtaken both.
Curacao
The former Dutch territory of Curacao had been managed by Netherlands greats Patrick Kluivert and Guus Hiddink, but it's 78-year-old Dick Advocaat who's finally got them over the line.
Needing to avoid a defeat in Jamaica to reach the World Cup, Curacao's hopes looked to have been dashed when conceding a penalty in stoppage time, only for the decision to be overruled, and the 0-0 draw was enough to send them to North America.
