# Rugby League World Cup qualification

The Rugby League World Cup qualification is the process a national team goes through to qualify for the Rugby League World Cup Finals.
Qualifying rounds were first introduced for the 2000 World Cup to reflect the recent expansion of the tournament.
From 2017 hosts and teams reaching the knockout rounds of the previous tournament automatically qualify for the next. The remaining spots are achieved through regional qualification tournaments, split between the four International Rugby League confederation Asia-Pacific, Americas, Europe, and Middle East-Africa.
Prior to this qualification tournament occurred in more random groups and major rugby league nations were still invited without need for qualification.
Because of a changing number of teams making the finals and entering the qualifiers, and the unpredictability of the geographic spread of teams automatically qualifying, the format of the qualification tournament has changed with each edition of the tournament.

## Pre-qualification era
### 1954–1977

In the first eight edition of the tournament only four teams were invited to participate. These were:
* Australia
* France
* Great Britain
* New Zealand
NB: In 1975 Great Britain split into England and Wales for a one-off tournament due to Wales wanting to showcase their influx of Welsh talent they had at the time. No Scottish or Irish player made the original Great Britain squad for that year.

### 1985–1992

For the next two editions of the tournament, a fifth nation was invited to participate:
* Papua New Guinea

### 1995

Following the expansion of the tournament to a group and knockout format, the number of participating teams increase as well. The initial tournament of the modern era would be the final invited only tournament with four new teams making debut:
* Fiji
* Samoa
* South Africa
* Tonga
In addition, the two established British home nation sides began their regular participation in the tournament as separate entities:
* England
* Wales

## 2000

For 2000, the tournament was expanded to 16 teams. 15 gained automatic qualification or were invited:
* Australia
* Cook Islands
* England (hosts)
* Fiji
* France (hosts)
* Ireland (hosts)
* Māori
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Russia
* Samoa
* Scotland (hosts)
* South Africa
* Tonga
* Wales (hosts)
The 16th place was fought for by six teams:
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts |
| Lebanon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 16 | 124 | 4 |
| Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 36 | 14 | 2 |
| Morocco | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 138 | -138 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts |
| United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 0 | 122 | 4 |
| Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 54 | -40 | 2 |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 82 | -82 | 0 |
* 21 November 1999
| United States | 8–62 | Lebanon |
| Tries: Mains Goals: Niu (2) Sin Bin: Matautia Sent Off: Faimalo | Summary | Tries: Coorey (3), Khoury (2), Chalal, Chehade, El Masri, Lambert, Salem, Touma Goals: El Masri (9) Sin Bin: Chamoun, Maroon |
* Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando Referee: Stuart Cummings (England)

## 2008
### Hosts and Invitees

* Australia (hosts)
* England
* France
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea

### Europe
#### Round 1

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
| Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 20 | +88 | 6 | Advance to Second Round |
| Georgia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 50 | +52 | 4 | Ejected |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 68 | 123 | –55 | 2 | Failed to qualify |
| Serbia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 127 | –85 | 0 | Failed to qualify |

#### Round 2

    Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
| Scotland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 2 | Qualified for World Cup |
| Wales | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 37 | –5 | 2 | Advance to Intercontinental Playoff |
    Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
| Ireland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 142 | 64 | 78 | 6 | Qualified for World Cup |
| Lebanon | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 42 | 62 | 6 | Advance to Interncontinental Playoff |
| Russia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 178 | −140 | 0 | Failed to qualify |

### Pacific

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
| Tonga | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 54 | 48 | 4 | Qualified for World Cup |
| Fiji | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 62 | 36 | 4 | Qualified for World Cup |
| Samoa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 52 | 34 | 4 | Advances to Intercontinental Playoffs |
| Cook Islands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 142 | −118 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |

### Other

* 28 October 2006
| United States | 54–18 | Japan |
* Aston Community Center Field, Aston Attendance: 1,200
United States advance to Intercontinental playoffs

### Intercontinental
#### Semi-finals

* 9 November 2007
| Wales | 26–50 | Lebanon |
| Tries: Gibson (3) Blackwood Bracek Goals: Harris (2/4) Briers | | Tries: Salem (3) El Zbaideh Kourouche Moujalli Ndaira Saab Samia Goals: Nicolas (7/9) |
* Halton Stadium, Widnes Attendance: 753
* 9 November 2007
| United States | 10–42 | Samoa |
* Halton Stadium, Widnes Attendance: 753

#### Final

* 14 November 2007
| Lebanon | 16–38 | Samoa |
* Post Office Road, Featherstone Attendance: 1,323
Samoa qualify for World Cup

## 2013
### Hosts and Invitees

* Australia
* Cook Islands
* England (hosts)
* Fiji
* France
* Ireland
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Scotland
* Tonga
* Wales (hosts)

### Atlantic

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | TF | PF | PA | +/− | BP | Pts |
| United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 8 | +72 | 0 | 4 |
| Jamaica | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 0 | 2 |
| South Africa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 60 | −50 | 0 | 0 |

### Europe

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts |
| Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 163 | 31 | +132 | 5 |
| Lebanon | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 147 | 23 | +124 | 5 |
| Russia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 152 | −110 | 2 |
| Serbia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 184 | −146 | 0 |

## 2017
### Automatic

* Australia (as well as hosts)
* England
* Fiji
* France
* New Zealand (as well as hosts)
* Papua New Guinea (as hosts)
* Samoa
* Scotland

### Americas

| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| United States | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 4 |
| Jamaica | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 1 |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 1 |

### Asia-Pacific

* 17 October 2015
| Tonga | 28 – 8 | Cook Islands |
| Try: Tafua 13' c Fonua 34' c Kata (2) 63', 68' c Terepo 74' c Goal: Kata (4/5) 14', 35', 69', 75' | Report | Try: Nicoll-Klokstad 4' Gelling 23' Goal: Rapana (0/2) |
* Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown Attendance: 4,813 Referee: Gerard Sutton Player of the Match: Solomone Kata (Tonga)

### Europe
#### Euro C

| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
| Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 34 | 82 | 4 |
| Malta | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 40 | 20 | 2 |
| Greece | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 106 | -102 | 0 |
Green: Advance to A

#### Euro B

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts |
| Serbia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 196 | 73 | +123 | 10 |
| Russia | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 137 | 31 | +106 | 8 |
| Italy | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 142 | 54 | +88 | 6 |
| Ukraine | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 80 | 256 | –176 | 0 |
Green: Advance to A

#### Euro A

    Group A
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Wales | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 14 | +56 | 4 | Qualification for 2017 Rugby League World Cup |
| 2 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 76 | 34 | +42 | 2 | Advance to fourth round |
| 3 | Serbia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 112 | −98 | 0 | |
    Group B
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 22 | +94 | 4 | Qualification for 2017 Rugby League World Cup |
| 2 | Russia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 76 | −20 | 2 | Advance to fourth round |
| 3 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 86 | −74 | 0 | |
    Playoff
* 4 November 2016 20:00 GMT (UTC+0:00)
| Italy | 76–0 | Russia |
| Tries: Castellaro (2), Cerruto (2), Lepori (2), Wilkie (2), Campese, Celerino, Centrone, Santi, Wakeman, Walker Goals: Campese (10/14) | Report (RLIF) | |
* Leigh Sports Village, Leigh Attendance: 450 Referee: Chris Campbell (England) Player of the Match: Terry Campese (Italy)

### Middle East-Africa

| 25 October 2015 | South Africa | 12–40 | Lebanon | Bosman Stadium, Brakpan |
| 31 October 2015 | South Africa | 16–50 | Lebanon | Bosman Stadium, Brakpan |

## 2021
### Automatic

* Australia
* England (as well as hosts)
* Fiji
* Lebanon
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Tonga

### Americas

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Canada | 8 | | |
| Jamaica | 38 | | |
| Jamaica | 38 | United States | 10 |
| | | Jamaica | 16 |
| United States | 62 | Jamaica | 16 |
| Chile | 0 | | |
Jamaica qualify United States advance to Intercontinental playoffs

### Europe
#### Round 1

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 38 | +68 | 6 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 2 | Wales | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 74 | +34 | 4 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 3 | Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 74 | −20 | 2 | Advance to Europe Repêchage for 2021 World Cup qualification |
| 4 | Scotland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 114 | −82 | 0 | Advance to Europe Repêchage for 2021 World Cup qualification |

#### Playoffs

    Group A
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 12 | +55 | 4 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 2 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 2 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 3 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 76 | −64 | 0 | |
    Group B
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Scotland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 24 | +104 | 4 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 2 | Greece | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 106 | 48 | +58 | 2 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 3 | Serbia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 168 | −162 | 0 | |

### Intercontinental

| Play-off qualifier | Play-off qualifier | Play-off | Play-off |
| | | United States | 16 |
| Cook Islands | 66 | Cook Islands | 38 |
| South Africa | 6 | | |
Cook Islands qualify

## 2026
### Automatic

* Australia
* England
* Fiji
* Lebanon
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Tonga

### Europe

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| France | 74 | | |
| Ukraine | 8 | | |
| Ukraine | 8 | France | 48 |
| | | Wales | 6 |
| Serbia | 0 | Wales | 6 |
| Wales | 48 | | |
France advance to Intercontinental playoffs

### Intercontinental

* Cook Islands vs South Africa
* France vs Jamaica
Winners qualify for the World Cup

## Results

As of the 2021 tournament, 21 different teams have competed in at least one world cup either via invitation or qualification. Australia, France, and New Zealand, are the only teams to have completed in every tournament. England has also participate in every tournament but competed as Great Britain prior to 1995 with the exception of 1975.
| Team | 1954 | 1957 | 1960 | 1968 | 1970 | 1972 | 1975 | 1977 | 1985–1988 | 1989–1992 | 1995 | 2000 | 2008 | 2013 | 2017 | 2021 | 2026 | Years |
| Australia | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | AQ | AQ | AQ | 17 |
| Cook Islands | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | DNQ | INV | DNQ | Q | TBD | 3 |
| England | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | - | - | - | INV | INV | INV | INV | AQ | AQ | AQ | 8$^a$ |
| Fiji | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | INV | INV | INV | AQ | AQ | AQ | 7 |
| France | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | AQ | Q | TBD | 16 |
| Great Britain | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | - | INV | INV | INV | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9$^a$ |
| Greece | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNQ | Q | TBD | 1 |
| Ireland | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | Q | INV | Q | Q | TBD | 5$^a$ |
| Italy | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNQ | - | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 13 |
| Jamaica | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNQ | DNQ | Q | TBD | 1 |
| Lebanon | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Q | DNQ | DNQ | Q | AQ | AQ | 4 |
| Māori | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | - | - | - | - | TBD | 1 |
| New Zealand | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | AQ | AQ | AQ | 17 |
| Papua New Guinea | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | INV | AQ | AQ | AQ | 9 |
| Russia | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | SUP | SUP | 1$^b$ |
| Samoa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | INV | Q | INV | AQ | AQ | AQ | 7 |
| Scotland | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | Q | INV | AQ | Q | TBD | 5$^a$ |
| South Africa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | INV | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | TBD | 2 |
| Tonga | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | INV | Q | INV | Q | AQ | AQ | 7 |
| United States | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | DNQ | DNQ | Q | Q | DNQ | TBD | 2$^c$ |
| Wales | - | - | - | - | - | - | INV | - | - | - | INV | INV | DNQ | INV | Q | Q | TBD | 6$^a$ |
| Total | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 10 | |

### Legend

* = Hosts
* INV = Invited
* AQ = Automatically Qualified
* Q = Qualified
* DNQ = Did not qualify
* - = Did not participate or was not invited
* SUP = Suspended
$^a$ Competed as Great Britain in nine previous tournaments. The squads largely consisted of English players, but also featured Welsh players in every tournament. Scotland (1954, 1968, 1977, 1989–92), and Ireland (1957) were represented by native-born players in some tournaments. $^b$ After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been banned from all international tournaments. $^c$ The United States was invited to the 1954 World Cup, but later canceled their invitation.

## Participation

The following table shows the number of years each team has completed in both the qualifiers and final tournament. Bold inducates teams automatically qualified or were invited to participate.
Updated for 2026 European Qualifiers
| Team | Qualifiers | Finals |
| Canada | 3 (2000, 2017, 2021) | 0 |
| Chile | 1 (2021) | 0 |
| Cook Islands | 3 (2008, 2017, 2021) | 2 (2000, 2013) |
| Fiji | 1 (2008) | 6 (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| France | 2 (2021, 2026) | 16 (1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1985–88, 1989–92, 1995, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| Georgia | 1 (2008) | 0 |
| Greece | 2 (2017, 2021) | 1 (2021) |
| Ireland | 3 (2008, 2017, 2021) | 5 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| Italy | 4 (2000, 2013, 2017, 2021) | 3 (2013, 2017, 2021) |
| Jamaica | 3 (2013, 2017, 2021) | 1 (2021) |
| Japan | 2 (2000, 2008) | 0 |
| Lebanon | 4 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017) | 3 (2000, 2017, 2021) |
| Malta | 3 (2017, 2021) | 0 |
| Morocco | 1 (2000) | 0 |
| Netherlands | 1 (2008) | 0 |
| Russia | 4 (2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) | 1 (2000) |
| Samoa | 1 (2008) | 5 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| Scotland | 2 (2008, 2021) | 5 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| Serbia | 5 (2008, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2026) | 0 |
| South Africa | 3 (2013, 2017, 2021) | 2 (1995, 2000) |
| Spain | 2 (2017, 2021) | 0 |
| Tonga | 2 (2008, 2017) | 6 (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| Wales | 4 (2008, 2017, 2021, 2026) | 6 (1975, 1995, 2000, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
| United States | 5 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) | 2 (2013, 2017) |
| Ukraine | 4 (2017, 2021, 2026) | 0 |

## Debuts

The following table shows which years teams made their qualification tournament debut. It doesn't not include teams that have previously qualified automatically or invited to participate.
| Year | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East-Africa | Total |
| 2000 | United States Canada | Japan | Italy | Lebanon Morocco | 6 |
| 2008 | | Cook Islands | Georgia Netherlands Serbia | | 4 |
| 2013 | Jamaica | | | | 1 |
| 2017 | | | Greece Malta Spain Ukraine | | 5 |
| 2021 | Chile | | | | 1 |
| Total | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 15 |