2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group A is one of the twelve UEFA groups in the World Cup qualification tournament to decide which teams will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. [1] Group A consists of four teams: Germany, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland and Slovakia. The teams will play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format from September to November 2025.

Contents

The group winner will qualify directly for the World Cup finals, while the runner-up will advance to the second round (play-offs).

Standings

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
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Assured of a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking; may still qualify directly

Matches

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 13 December 2024 following the draw. [2] [3] [4] Times are CET/CEST, [note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Luxembourg  Flag of Luxembourg.svg1–3Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland
  • Dardari Soccerball shade.svg30'
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Slovakia  Flag of Slovakia.svg2–0Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Luxembourg  Flag of Luxembourg.svg0–1Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Germany  Flag of Germany.svg3–1Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne
Attendance: 43,169 [8]
Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)

Northern Ireland  Ulster Banner.svgvFlag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Germany  Flag of Germany.svgvFlag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Northern Ireland  Ulster Banner.svgvFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Slovakia  Flag of Slovakia.svgvFlag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Luxembourg  Flag of Luxembourg.svgvFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Slovakia  Flag of Slovakia.svgvUlster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Northern Ireland  Ulster Banner.svgvFlag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Germany  Flag of Germany.svgvFlag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Goalscorers

There have been 11 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2.75 goals per match (as of 7 September 2025).

1 goal

Discipline

A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences: [9]

The following suspensions were (or will be) served during the qualifying matches:

TeamPlayerOffence(s)Suspended for match(es)
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Seid Korać Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg vs Northern Ireland (4 September 2025)vs Slovakia (7 September 2025)

Notes

  1. CEST (UTC+2) for matches until 26 October 2025 (matchdays 1–4), and CET (UTC+1) for matches thereafter (matchdays 5–6).

References

  1. "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. "European Qualifiers for 2026 World Cup: All the fixtures and results". UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by matchday" (PDF). UEFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  4. "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by group" (PDF). UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  5. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Luxembourg v Northern Ireland" (PDF). UEFA. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  6. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Slovakia v Germany" (PDF). UEFA. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  7. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Luxembourg v Slovakia" (PDF). UEFA. 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  8. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Germany v Northern Ireland" (PDF). UEFA. 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  9. "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.