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)
2022
2030

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 will feature twelve groups of four or 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) will begin in March 2025, while groups of four teams (Groups A–F) will begin in September 2025. [2] [7]

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 1Matchday 54–6 September 2025
Matchday 2Matchday 67–9 September 2025
Matchday 3Matchday 79–11 October 2025
Matchday 4Matchday 812–14 October 2025
Matchday 5Matchday 913–15 November 2025
Matchday 6Matchday 1016–18 November 2025
Second round
(play-offs)
Semi-finals26 March 2026
Finals31 March 2026

Draw

The draw for the first round (group stage) will be held on 13 December 2024, 12:00 CET, at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. [8] [9] [10] [11] Of UEFA's 55 member associations, 54 men's national teams submitted a valid entry to the competition, while Russia's entry was not accepted due to suspension from UEFA and FIFA competitions following their country's invasion of Ukraine. [12] [13]

The teams will be seeded into five pots: Pots 1 to 4 will each contain twelve teams, and Pot 5 will contain 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 will be drawn into twelve groups: six groups of four teams (Groups A–F) and six groups of five teams (Groups G–L). [14]

Following changes to the UEFA qualifying format, the competition will feature staggered starting dates. Five-team groups will begin in March 2025, while four-team groups will start in September 2025. As 24 teams will 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 can 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 will play among themselves during this window. Additionally, as the four quarter-final winners will compete in the 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals in June, they cannot begin World Cup qualifying until September and must therefore be drawn into four-team groups. [14]

Given these conditions, Pot 1 will contain the eight Nations League quarter-finalists, regardless of their position in the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2024. The quarter-finalists will be 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 will be 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. [15]

Draw procedure

The draw will start with Pot 1 and complete with Pot 5. A team will be drawn and assigned to the first available group (based on draw conditions) in alphabetical order. Each five-team group will contain one team from each of the five pots, while each four-team group will contain one team from each of the first four pots. [14]

The following restrictions will be applied with computer assistance:

Seeding pots

The draw pots were announced on 28 November 2024, [16] based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking released on the same day. [17]

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.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 is unavailable during the March 2025 window

First round

The group stage schedule will be confirmed by UEFA shortly after the draw. [18]

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationA1A2A3A4
1A100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBD
2A200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBD
3A300000000TBDTBDTBD
4A400000000TBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationB1B2B3B4
1B100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBD
2B200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBD
3B300000000TBDTBDTBD
4B400000000TBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationC1C2C3C4
1C100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBD
2C200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBD
3C300000000TBDTBDTBD
4C400000000TBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationD1D2D3D4
1D100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBD
2D200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBD
3D300000000TBDTBDTBD
4D400000000TBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group E

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationE1E2E3E4
1E100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBD
2E200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBD
3E300000000TBDTBDTBD
4E400000000TBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group F

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationF1F2F3F4
1F100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBD
2F200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBD
3F300000000TBDTBDTBD
4F400000000TBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group G

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationG1G2G3G4G5
1G100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBDTBD
2G200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBDTBD
3G300000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
4G400000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
5G500000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group H

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationH1H2H3H4H5
1H100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBDTBD
2H200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBDTBD
3H300000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
4H400000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
5H500000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group I

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationI1I2I3I4I5
1I100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBDTBD
2I200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBDTBD
3I300000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
4I400000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
5I500000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group J

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationJ1J2J3J4J5
1J100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBDTBD
2J200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBDTBD
3J300000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
4J400000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
5J500000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group K

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationK1K2K3K4K5
1K100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBDTBD
2K200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBDTBD
3K300000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
4K400000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
5K500000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group L

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationL1L2L3L4L5
1L100000000Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup TBDTBDTBDTBD
2L200000000Advance to play-offs TBDTBDTBDTBD
3L300000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
4L400000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
5L500000000TBDTBDTBDTBD
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

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. [19]

Nations League team selection

Based on the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking, the best four 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 remaining team(s) in the Nations League interim overall ranking that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. [19]

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)
2Flag of Germany.svg  Germany (X)
3Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal (X)
4Flag of France.svg  France (X)
B 17Flag of England.svg  England
18Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
19Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
20Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
C 33Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
34Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
35Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
36Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland
D 49Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova
50Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino
Nations League remaining teams
A 5Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
6Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
7Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
8Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
9Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
10Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
11Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
12Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
13Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
14Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
15Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland
16Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
B 21Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
22Flag of Austria.svg  Austria

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: [19]

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.  

Notes

  1. 1 2 As there are only six four-team groups available for the eight quarter-finalists, and the identity of the 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals participants will not be known at the time of the World Cup qualifying draw, the eight quarter-finalists will be represented in Pot 1 as the winners or defeated teams of quarter-finals 1–4.
  2. The Gibraltar–Spain draw condition only applies to the placeholder for the loser of quarter-final 1, featuring the Netherlands and Spain. This is because the winner will join a four-team group, while Gibraltar, as a Pot 5 team, will be 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 will apply 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 following the group stage draw.

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