So where the rest of the major teams stand and how might qualifying look over the next four years? If qualifying holds firm to what we saw the last several cycles there could be some major teams missing out with a couple of debuts. Here's a look at each region beginning with the Americas.
Take the jump to read more.Americas: Argentina, the big dogs in the region, have already qualified so that means it will likely be between the U.S., Canada, and Uruguay once again for two spots (we should mention that World Cup hasn't finalized qualifying). As of right now the U.S. are probably the favorite team to take the Americas 1 spot and Canada to take the Americas 2 spot putting Uruguay in the repechage again. However, as we'll talk about later, it may be very difficult for Uruguay to qualify for 2019.
Africa: Namibia were the winners last time, and the time before that, and the time before that, etc. Things have been closer recently, including a loss to Madagascar, but all signs point to Namibia qualifying again. Maybe Kenya or Zimbabwe surprise.
Europe: This year Europe has been thrown for a loop with Georgia qualifying. Qualifying in Europe is done through the European Nations Cup. That had always fit nicely because the Six Nations teams all qualifying automatically while none of the ENC teams did. However, with Georgia automatically qualifying there will be plenty of calls for changes. Still, Europe should have two spots again which means Romania and another team. Portugal, Russia, and Spain are all options to return to the World Cup.
Asia: With Japan qualifying and hosting there is going to be a new team from Asia. Hong Kong and South Korea have been the top two teams over the last few cycles and one of them is going to qualify for 2019. It's exciting that one team is going to make their debut at the tournament.
Oceania: This is where things might get messy. If World Rugby holds to the same pattern as the last few cycles with Oceania only getting one place in the tournament and one place in the repechage one of Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji are going to miss out. Fiji and Samoa are the top two at the moment but regardless this is going to be fun to watch. Whoever makes the repechage from this group should be able to top any challenger from Europe, Africa, Asia, or the Americas.