2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Tournament details
Dates21 March 2025 – 31 March 2026
TeamsMaximum of 55 (from 1 confederation)
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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

Entrants

All 55 FIFA-affiliated national teams from UEFA are able to submit an entry into qualification. However, Russia were suspended indefinitely on 28 February 2022 from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions due to their country's invasion of Ukraine. [1] Therefore, it is unclear whether they will compete in the UEFA section of World Cup qualification.

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, [2] 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 which finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. [3] On 28 June 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee formally recommended the qualification format to FIFA, [4] which was later approved. [5] [6]

Schedule

Below is the schedule of the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. [7] Teams drawn into groups of five will play their first matches in March 2025, or June 2025 if they are participating in the quarter-finals or promotion/relegation play-offs of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League. Teams drawn into groups of four will play their first matches in September 2025. [3] [8]

The qualifying groups are scheduled to be drawn following the UEFA Euro 2024, which is scheduled to conclude in mid-July 2024.[ citation needed ]

RoundMatchdayDates
Groups of fiveGroups of four
First round
(group stage)		Matchday 1—21–22 March 2025
Matchday 224–25 March 2025
Matchday 36–7 June 2025
Matchday 49–10 June 2025
Matchday 5Matchday 14–6 September 2025
Matchday 6Matchday 27–9 September 2025
Matchday 7Matchday 39–11 October 2025
Matchday 8Matchday 412–14 October 2025
Matchday 9Matchday 513–15 November 2025
Matchday 10Matchday 616–18 November 2025
Second round
(play-offs)		Semi-finals26 March 2026
Finals31 March 2026

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References

  1. ↑ "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions approved". UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Lisbon to host UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2025". UEFA . 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Road to the FIFA World Cup 26 has begun". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2024/25" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 December 2023. Annex A – 2024–26 National Team Match Calendar. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  8. ↑ "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions" (PDF). UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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