2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

Last updated

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Tournament details
Dates21 March 2025 – 31 March 2026
Teams54 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played96
Goals scored314 (3.27 per match)
Attendance1,907,564 (19,870 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Norway.svg Erling Haaland (9 goals)
2022
2030
All statistics correct as of 9 September 2025.

The European section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification competition will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States, for national teams that are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). A total of 16 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams.

Contents

Format

A revised qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 25 January 2023. As the number of final tournament slots for UEFA has increased from 13 to 16, [1] the qualification format was modified from the previous cycle. The qualifying group stage features six groups of four and six groups of five teams. The winner of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams will advance to the play-offs, along with the four best-ranked group winners from the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League that finished outside the top two of their World Cup qualifying group. [2] On 28 June 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee formally recommended the qualification format to FIFA, [3] which was later approved. [4] [5]

Schedule

Below is the schedule of the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. [6] Groups of five teams (Groups G–L) began in March 2025, while groups of four teams (Groups A–F) began in September 2025. [2] [7] [8]

RoundMatchdayDates
Groups A–FGroups G–L
First round
(group stage)
Matchday 121–22 March 2025
Matchday 224–25 March 2025
Matchday 36–7 June 2025
Matchday 49–10 June 2025
Matchday 54–6 September 2025
Matchday 67–9 September 2025
Matchday 79–11 October 2025
Matchday 812–14 October 2025
Matchday 913–15 November 2025
Matchday 1016–18 November 2025
Second round
(play-offs)
Semi-finals26 March 2026
Finals31 March 2026

Draw

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held on 13 December 2024, 12:00 CET, at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. [9] [10] [11] [12] Of UEFA's 55 member associations, 54 men's national teams submitted a valid entry to the competition; Russia's entry was invalidated due to their suspension from UEFA and FIFA competitions after their country's invasion of Ukraine. [13] [14]

The teams were seeded into five pots: Pots 1 to 4 each contained twelve teams, and Pot 5 contained six teams. FIFA, in consultation with UEFA, announced the allocation of teams to the five pots following the completion of the league phase of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League. The teams were drawn into twelve groups: six groups of four teams (Groups A–F) and six groups of five teams (Groups G–L). [15]

Following changes to the UEFA qualifying format, the competition features staggered starting dates. Five-team groups began in March 2025, while four-team groups started in September 2025. As 24 teams would be competing in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League in March 2025 (8 in the League A quarter-finals and 16 in the League A/B or B/C promotion/relegation play-offs), significant changes were made to the seeding and draw procedures to accommodate all teams within the schedule.

Seeding method

Five-team groups could only contain one team participating in Nations League matches in March 2025, allowing these teams to have two free matchdays in World Cup qualifying to be scheduled during March. The remaining four teams in their group played among themselves during this window. Additionally, as the four quarter-final winners would compete in the 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals in June, they could not begin World Cup qualifying until September and therefore had to be drawn into four-team groups. [15]

Given these conditions, Pot 1 contained the eight Nations League quarter-finalists, regardless of their position in the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2024. The quarter-finalists were represented by placeholders in the draw, denoting the winners and losers of each quarter-final pairing. [note 1] The four remaining teams in Pot 1 were the next best-ranked teams in the World Ranking that November. The remaining teams were allocated to Pots 2 to 5 based on the World Ranking. This seeding method differs from previous cycles, as all World Cup qualifying group draws since 2010 have been seeded based solely on the World Ranking.

While ultimately not required, adjustments to Pots 2 to 5 could have been necessary depending on the distribution of teams competing in the Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs in March 2025. Specifically, if any draw pot contained more Nations League play-off teams than could be accommodated in the available qualifying groups, the lowest-ranked Nations League play-off team from that pot would have been swapped with the highest-ranked eligible team from the lower pot. This process would have been repeated as needed within the same pot or across different pots. [16]

Draw procedure

The draw started with Pot 1 and completed with Pot 5. A team was drawn and assigned to the first available group (based on draw conditions) in alphabetical order. Each five-team group contained one team from each of the five pots, while each four-team group contained one team from each of the first four pots. [15]

The following restrictions were applied with computer assistance:

Seeding pots

The draw pots were announced on 28 November 2024, [17] based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking released on the same day. [18]

Pot 1 [note 1]
QFTeamRank
1Flag of Spain.svg  Spain [QF] 3
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands [QF] 7
2Flag of France.svg  France [QF] 2
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia [QF] 13
3Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal [QF] 6
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark [QF] 21
4Flag of Italy.svg  Italy [QF] 9
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany [QF] 10
Flag of England.svg  England 4
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium [PO] 8
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 20
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria [PO] 22
Pot 2
TeamRank
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine [PO] 25
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 27
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey [PO] 28
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 29
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary [PO] 30
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia [PO] 32
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 35
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 38
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece [PO] 39
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia [PO] 41
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 42
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 43
Pot 3
TeamRank
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland [PO] 45
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia [PO] 55
Flag of Ireland.svg  Republic of Ireland [PO] 60
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 65
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 67
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia [PO] 68
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 69
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland [PO] 70
Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland 71
Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 73
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 74
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 76
Pot 4
TeamRank
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria [PO] 82
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 92
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 98
Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo [PO] 99
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia [PO] 100
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 110
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 117
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 123
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 130
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands 137
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 140
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 142
Pot 5
TeamRank
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 151
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 169
Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra 171
Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 197
Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein 204
Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 210
Banned from entering qualifying
TeamRank
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 34

Key

  1. QF Nations League quarter-finalist, automatically seeded into Pot 1 and unavailable during the March 2025 window
  2. PO Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs participant that was unavailable during the March 2025 window

First round

The group stage fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 13 December 2024 following the draw. [8] [19] [20]

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Slovakia.svg Ulster Banner.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Luxembourg.svg
1Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 220030+36Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 14 Nov 2–0 13 Oct
2Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland 21014403Advance to play-offs 10 Oct 13 Oct 17 Nov
3Flag of Germany.svg  Germany (X)21013303 17 Nov 3–1 10 Oct
4Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 20021430 0–1 1–3 14 Nov
Updated to match(es) played on 7 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(X) Assured of a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking; may still qualify directly

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Flag of Kosovo.svg Flag of Sweden.svg Flag of Slovenia.svg
1Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 220070+76Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 4–0 15 Nov 3–0
2Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 21012423Advance to play-offs 18 Nov 2–0 10 Oct
3Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 20112421 10 Oct 13 Oct 18 Nov
4Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 20112531 13 Oct 15 Nov 2–2
Updated to match(es) played on 8 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Denmark.svg Flag of Scotland.svg Flag of Greece.svg Flag of Belarus.svg
1Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 211030+34Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 0–0 12 Oct 15 Nov
2Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 211020+24Advance to play-offs 18 Nov 9 Oct 12 Oct
3Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 210154+13 0–3 15 Nov 5–1
4Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 20021760 9 Oct 0–2 18 Nov
Updated to match(es) played on 8 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of France.svg Flag of Iceland.svg Flag of Ukraine.svg Flag of Azerbaijan.svg
1Flag of France.svg  France (X)220041+36Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 2–1 13 Nov 10 Oct
2Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 210162+43Advance to play-offs 13 Oct 10 Oct 5–0
3Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 20111321 0–2 16 Nov 13 Oct
4Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 20111651 16 Nov 13 Nov 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(X) Assured of a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking; may still qualify directly

Group E

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Spain.svg Flag of Georgia.svg Flag of Turkey.svg Flag of Bulgaria.svg
1Flag of Spain.svg  Spain (X)220090+96Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 11 Oct 18 Nov 14 Oct
2Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 210153+23Advance to play-offs 15 Nov 2–3 3–0
3Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 21013853 0–6 14 Oct 15 Nov
4Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 20020660 0–3 18 Nov 11 Oct
Updated to match(es) played on 7 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(X) Assured of a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking; may still qualify directly

Group F

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Portugal (official).svg Flag of Armenia.svg Flag of Hungary.svg Flag of Ireland.svg
1Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal (X)220082+66Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 16 Nov 14 Oct 11 Oct
2Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 21012643Advance to play-offs 0–5 13 Nov 2–1
3Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 20114511 2–3 11 Oct 16 Nov
4Flag of Ireland.svg  Republic of Ireland 20113411 13 Nov 14 Oct 2–2
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(X) Assured of a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking; may still qualify directly

Group G

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Poland.svg Flag of Finland.svg Flag of Lithuania.svg Flag of Malta.svg
1Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4310143+1110Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 1–1 12 Oct 17 Nov 8–0
2Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 531184+410Advance to play-offs 14 Nov 3–1 1–0 2–0
3Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 52126827 0–2 2–1 9 Oct 14 Nov
4Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 50325723 2–3 12 Oct 2–2 1–1
5Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 5023112112 9 Oct 17 Nov 0–1 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on 7 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA

Group H

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Flag of Austria.svg Flag of Romania.svg Flag of Cyprus.svg Flag of San Marino.svg
1Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5401113+812Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 1–2 15 Nov 2–1 1–0
2Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 440092+712Advance to play-offs 18 Nov 2–1 1–0 9 Oct
3Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 5212106+47 0–1 12 Oct 2–0 18 Nov
4Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 51135724 9 Oct 15 Nov 2–2 2–0
5Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino (Z)5005118170 0–6 0–4 1–5 12 Oct
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(Z) Cannot qualify via group position but may still qualify for a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking

Group I

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Norway.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Israel.svg Flag of Estonia.svg Flag of Moldova.svg
1Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 5500243+2115Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 3–0 11 Oct 13 Nov 11–1
2Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 4301127+59Advance to play-offs 16 Nov 14 Oct 5–0 2–0
3Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 53021511+49 2–4 4–5 2–1 16 Nov
4Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia (Y)510451383 0–1 11 Oct 1–3 14 Oct
5Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova (Z)5005325220 0–5 13 Nov 0–4 2–3
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify directly but may be able to qualify for a play-off berth; (Z) Cannot qualify via group position but may still qualify for a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking

Group J

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of North Macedonia.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Flag of Liechtenstein.svg
1Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 5320112+911Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 1–1 1–1 13 Oct 5–0
2Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 4310174+1310Advance to play-offs 10 Oct 4–3 6–0 18 Nov
3Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 5311116+510 18 Nov 13 Oct 3–1 3–0
4Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan (Y)510431183 0–1 15 Nov 0–1 10 Oct
5Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein (E)5005019190 0–3 0–6 15 Nov 0–2
Updated to match(es) played on 7 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly but may be able to qualify for a play-off berth

Group K

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of England.svg Flag of Albania.svg Flag of Serbia.svg Flag of Latvia.svg Flag of Andorra.svg
1Flag of England.svg  England 5500130+1315Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 2–0 13 Nov 3–0 2–0
2Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 522153+28Advance to play-offs 16 Nov 0–0 1–0 3–0
3Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 42114517 0–5 11 Oct 16 Nov 3–0
4Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia (Y)51132644 14 Oct 1–1 0–1 11 Oct
5Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra (Y)5005010100 0–1 13 Nov 14 Oct 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(Y) Cannot qualify directly but may be able to qualify for a play-off berth

Group L

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Croatia.svg Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Flag of Montenegro.svg Flag of Gibraltar.svg
1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 4400171+1612Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup 5–1 14 Nov 4–0 12 Oct
2Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 5401116+512Advance to play-offs 9 Oct 2–1 2–0 17 Nov
3Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands 52034516 0–1 12 Oct 9 Oct 2–1
4Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 52034956 17 Nov 0–2 1–0 3–1
5Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar (E)5005217150 0–7 0–4 0–1 14 Nov
Updated to match(es) played on 8 September 2025. Source: FIFA, UEFA
(E) Eliminated

Second round

The second round (play-offs) will be contested by the twelve group runners-up and the best four Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League interim overall ranking, who finish outside the top two of their qualifying group. The sixteen teams will be split into four play-off paths, each containing four teams. Each path will feature two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. In the semi-finals, the fixtures of each path will be determined by seeding pots, with the Pot 1 team hosting the Pot 4 team and the Pot 2 team hosting the Pot 3 team. The host of each path final will be decided by a draw between the two semi-final pairings. [21]

Nations League team selection

Based on the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking, [22] the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that finish outside the top two of their qualifying group will advance to the play-offs. If fewer than four Nations League group winners can be selected, the remaining spot(s) will be allocated to the best-ranked remaining team(s) in the Nations League interim overall ranking that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. [21]

The table below shows the order in which teams will be selected based on the UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking. [note 6]

UNLRankTeamQualifying
group
Nations League group winners
A 1Flag of Spain.svg  Spain (X) E
2Flag of Germany.svg  Germany (X) A
3Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal (X) F
4Flag of France.svg  France (X) D
B 17Flag of England.svg  England K
18Flag of Norway.svg  Norway I
19Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales J
20Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic L
C 33Flag of Romania.svg  Romania H
34Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden B
35Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia J
36Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland A
D 49Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova (T) I
50Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino (T) H
Nations League remaining teams
A 5Flag of Italy.svg  Italy I
6Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands G
7Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark C
8Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia L
9Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland C
10Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia K
11Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary F
12Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium J
13Flag of Poland.svg  Poland G
14Flag of Israel.svg  Israel I
15Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland (N) B
16Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina (N) H

Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2025

Key

Draw

For the draw, the sixteen teams will be divided into four pots of four teams each. The twelve group runners-up will be allocated to pots 1 to 3, with seeding based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2025. The four teams qualified via the Nations League will be automatically seeded into pot 4. The play-off paths are structured as follows: [21]

The draw for the semi-finals will start with Pot 1 and complete with Pot 4. Teams will be drawn and assigned to the first available play-off semi-final (considering prohibited clashes) in numerical order, as follows:

The draw for the final hosts will take place immediately afterwards, with finals A, B, C and D each having one of their semi-finalists selected as the host team.

For political reasons, matches between the following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes and cannot be drawn into the same play-off path: Armenia–Azerbaijan, Belarus–Ukraine, Gibraltar–Spain, Kosovo–Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo–Serbia. The seeding pots for the semi-final draw are as follows.

SeededUnseeded
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4 (UNL)
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  

Top goalscorers

There have been 314 goals scored in 96 matches, for an average of 3.27 goals per match (as of 9 September 2025).

9 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for all groups:

Controversies

During the draw on 13 December 2024, when Ukraine was drawn, the map of the country did not include the disputed area of Crimea, which led to outrage from the Ukrainian Association of Football. FIFA later apologised for the incident. [23]

In Group I, the Norwegian Football Federation reportedly requested an investigation into Israel, due to the country's actions in Gaza during the Gaza war which has led to a high amount of civilian casualties. [24] In the same group, during EstoniaIsrael qualification match, Estonian fans waved a banner targeting Israeli captain Eli Dasa who played for Russian club FC Dynamo Moscow from 2022 to 2025. The banner was removed on request by UEFA. [25] Also in the same group, the Italian Football Coaches' Association called for Israel to be suspended prior to the Italy–Israel qualification match. [26]

Notes

  1. 1 2 As there were only six four-team groups available for the eight quarter-finalists, and the identity of the 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals participants was not known at the time of the World Cup qualifying draw, the eight quarter-finalists were represented in Pot 1 as the winners or defeated teams of quarter-finals 1–4.
  2. The Gibraltar–Spain draw condition only applied to the placeholder for the loser of quarter-final 1, featuring the Netherlands and Spain. This was because the winner would be placed in a four-team group, while Gibraltar, as a Pot 5 team, was placed in a five-team group.
  3. Belarus and Ukraine, which typically have a winter venue draw restriction, did not have it applied given they were required to play at neutral venues.
  4. Excessive travel pairings involving France, Spain and Portugal applied to the placeholders for both the winner and loser of their respective quarter-final pairing.
  5. Israel, which typically have an excessive travel restriction with Iceland, were removed given they were required to play at neutral venues.
  6. The table lists teams down to the lowest-ranked team that could potentially receive a play-off spot (the team ranked 16th in League A), based on the distribution of teams to qualifying groups.

References

  1. "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions approved". UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. "Lisbon to host UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2025". UEFA. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. "Road to the FIFA World Cup 26 has begun". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. "CONMEBOL kick off journey of "great joy and happiness" to historic FIFA World Cup 2026, says FIFA President". FIFA. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2024/25" (PDF). UEFA. 11 December 2023. Annex A – 2024–26 National Team Match Calendar. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  7. "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions" (PDF). UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  8. 1 2 "European Qualifiers for 2026 World Cup: All the fixtures and results". UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  9. "European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: All you need to know". UEFA . Union of European Football Associations. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  10. "European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: All you need to know". UEFA . Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  11. "Everything you need to know about UEFA qualifying". FIFA. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  12. "UEFA Preliminary Draw for FIFA World Cup 26 to take place on 13 December". FIFA. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  13. "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". FIFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  14. "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". UEFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  16. "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. September 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  17. "UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26: procedures and seedings confirmed". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  18. "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking: Men's World ranking". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  19. "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by matchday" (PDF). UEFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  20. "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by group" (PDF). UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 "UEFA Preliminary Competition for the FIFA World Cup 26 – Additional Competition Information" (PDF). FIFA. September 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  22. "Interim overall rankings of the UEFA Nations League 2024/25" (PDF). UEFA. 23 March 2025.
  23. "Fifa regrets Ukraine map error at 2026 World Cup qualifiers draw". bbc.com. BBC Sport. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  24. "'Can't Remain Indifferent': Norway Spotlights Gaza Ahead of World Cup Qualifier Against Israel". haaretz.com. Haaretz. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  25. Zenziper, Nadav (7 June 2025). "Estonian police seek to question Israeli soccer captain over pro-Russia remarks". Ynetnews.
  26. read, DANIELLA MATAR·2 min (20 August 2025). "Italian soccer coaches call for Israel to be suspended by UEFA and FIFA over Gaza war". Yahoo Sports.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)