2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group J

Last updated

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group J 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 J consists of five teams: Belgium, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia and Wales. The teams will play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format from March to November 2025. However, as Belgium were involved in the Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs in March, they began their qualifying campaign in June 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 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
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly but may be able to qualify for a play-off berth

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).

Liechtenstein  Flag of Liechtenstein.svg0–3Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
Attendance: 4,094 [5]
Referee: Mykola Balakin (Ukraine)
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg3–1Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 32,473 [6]
Referee: Donatas Rumšas (Lithuania)

Liechtenstein  Flag of Liechtenstein.svg0–2Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
Attendance: 1,123 [7]
Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)
North Macedonia  Flag of North Macedonia.svg1–1Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje
Attendance: 23,114 [8]
Referee: Jérôme Brisard (France)

North Macedonia  Flag of North Macedonia.svg1–1Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje
Attendance: 23,070 [9]
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (England)
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg3–0Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Kazakhstan  Flag of Kazakhstan.svg0–1Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Astana Arena, Astana
Attendance: 27,694 [11]
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg4–3Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Kazakhstan  Flag of Kazakhstan.svg0–1Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Liechtenstein  Flag of Liechtenstein.svg0–6Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
Attendance: 3,158 [14]
Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark)

North Macedonia  Flag of North Macedonia.svg5–0Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje
Attendance: 8,693 [15]
Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (Romania)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg6–0Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Kazakhstan  Flag of Kazakhstan.svgvFlag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svgvFlag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

North Macedonia  Flag of North Macedonia.svgvFlag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svgvFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Kazakhstan  Flag of Kazakhstan.svgvFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Liechtenstein  Flag of Liechtenstein.svgvFlag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svgvFlag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svgvFlag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)

Goalscorers

There have been 42 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match (as of 7 September 2025).

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences: [17]

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

TeamPlayerOffence(s)Suspended for match(es)
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia Nikola Serafimov Yellow card.svg vs Liechtenstein (22 March 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Wales (25 March 2025)
vs Belgium (6 June 2025)
Visar Musliu Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (6 June 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Kazakhstan (9 June 2025)
vs Liechtenstein (7 September 2025)
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan Serhiy Malyi Yellow card.svg vs North Macedonia (9 June 2025)
Yellow card.svg vs Wales (4 September 2025)
vs Belgium (7 September 2025)

Notes

  1. CET (UTC+1) for matches until 29 March and from 26 October (matchday 1–2 and 9–10), and CEST (UTC+2) for matches from 30 March to 25 October 2025 (matchday 3–8).

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 – Liechtenstein v North Macedonia" (PDF). UEFA. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  6. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Wales v Kazakhstan" (PDF). UEFA. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  7. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Liechtenstein v Kazakhstan" (PDF). UEFA. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  8. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – North Macedonia v Wales" (PDF). UEFA. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  9. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – North Macedonia v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  10. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Wales v Liechtenstein" (PDF). UEFA. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  11. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Kazakhstan v North Macedonia" (PDF). UEFA. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  12. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Belgium v Wales" (PDF). UEFA. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  13. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Kazakhstan v Wales" (PDF). UEFA. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  14. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Liechtenstein v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  15. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – North Macedonia v Liechtenstein" (PDF). UEFA. 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  16. "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Belgium v Kazakhstan" (PDF). UEFA. 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  17. "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.