The 2026 World Cup will have a record 48 teams, and defending champion Argentina on Tuesday became the first South American team to secure a spot. Iran also clinched a berth.
New Zealand qualified on Monday, five days after Japan became the first nation excluding the three hosts to secure a spot.
Next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada kicks off on June 11 and the final will take place on July 19.
Forty-three teams will get their spots through their continent’s qualifying process. Another two will secure their berths in the international playoffs featuring six teams and scheduled for March 2026.
Asia will have eight direct berths and one in the intercontinental playoff.
Africa has nine direct spots plus one for the intercontinental playoff.
North and Central America plus the Caribbean get three direct berths and another two spots in the intercontinental playoffs.
South America has six direct spots and will send another team to the intercontinental playoffs.
Oceania for the first time has a guaranteed spot at the World Cup, and New Zealand clinched that with a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in Auckland. It could add another with New Caledonia going into the intercontinental playoffs.
Europe will have 16 teams sure to play in the next World Cup.
The three host countries automatically qualify — and thus occupy three of the CONCACAF spots
United States, Mexico, Canada
Japan (qualified on March 20 by beating Bahrain 2-0)
Iran (qualified on March 25 in 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan)
New Zealand (qualified on March 24 by beating New Caledonia 3-0)
Argentina (qualified on March 25 after Bolivia failed to beat Uruguay)
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Iranian fans celebrate after their team qualified for the 2026 Soccer World Cup by winning a soccer match between Iran and Uzbekistan in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez walks of the field with teammates after defeating Brazil in a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match at Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Japan's head coach Hajime Moriyasu acknowledges the applause from the crowd after their win against Bahrain in the World Cup qualifying soccer match at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday will announce tariffs on auto imports, a move that the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the tariffs would be detailed at a 4 p.m. EST news conference. Leavitt said that she would leave it to the Republican president to flesh out his plans to tax foreign-made autos and parts, which could be complicated as even U.S. automakers source their components from around the world.
Shares in General Motors have fallen roughly 1.7% in Wednesday afternoon trading. Ford's stock was down roughly 1.2%. Shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, have dropped 2%.
Trump has long said that tariffs against auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would cause more production to relocate in the United States. But U.S. and foreign automakers with domestic plants still depend on Canada, Mexico and other nations for parts and finished vehicles, meaning that auto prices could increase and sales could decline as new factories take time to build.
“We are going to be doing automobiles, which you’ve known about for a long time,” Trump said Monday. “We’ll be announcing that fairly soon, over the next few days probably."
The auto tariffs are part of a broader reshaping of global relations by Trump, who plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on April 2 that would match the tariffs, sales taxes charged by other nations.
Trump has already placed a 20% import tax on all imports from China for its role in the production of fentanyl. He similarly placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products. Parts of the Mexico and Canada tariffs have been suspended, including the taxes on autos after automakers objected and Trump responded by giving them a 30-day reprieve that is set to expire in April.
The president has also imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, removing the exemptions from his earlier 2018 taxes on the metals. He also plans tariffs on computer chips, pharmaceutical drugs, lumber and copper.
His taxes risk igniting a broader global trade war with escalating retaliations that could crush global trade, potentially hurting economic growth while raising prices for families and businesses as some of the costs of the taxes get passed along by importers. When the Europe Union retaliated with plans for a 50% tariff on U.S. spirits, Trump responded by planning a 200% tax on alcoholic beverages from the EU.
Trump's aides maintain the tariffs on Canada and Mexico are about stopping illegal immigration and drug smuggling. But the administration also wants to use the tariff revenues to lower the budget deficit and assert America's preeminence as the world's largest economy.
Leavitt is one of three Trump administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
President Donald Trump arrives at the annual St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
