2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe

Last updated
2026 (2026) Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe  ()
Number of teams4
Host countryFlag of France.svg  France
WinnerFlag of France.svg  France
Matches played4
Attendance3,407 (852 per match)
Top scorers Flag of France.svg César Rougé (20)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Matty Fozard
Top try scorers Flag of France.svg Nittim Pedrero (3)
Flag of France.svg Éloi Pélissier
Tournaments
 < 2021

The 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup European qualification tournament was an international rugby league tournament held in October 2024 to decide the nation that qualifies for the 2025 World Series and in-turn, potentially qualify for the 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup. [1]

Contents

Background

The tournament took place in October 2024 and was open to all full member nations as of 15 March 2024. The winner of the tournament advanced to the World Series in 2025. [1]

On 14 March 2024, Ireland, Italy, and Scotland had their membership downgraded to affiliate members due to non-compliance with the membership policy, and as a result were no longer eligible to participate in the World Cup qualification process. [2] [3]

Seeding and format

Teams played semi-finals and a final. The semi-finals were based on IRL Rank with highest-ranked playing lowest-ranked and second-highest playing second-lowest. The losing semi-finalists contested a third place playoff; this had no bearing on World Cup qualification, but did count for world ranking points. [4]

The four eligible nations to compete in the tournament were confirmed to be participating on 25 July 2024; France, Serbia, Ukraine and Wales.

IRL Men's World Rankings – Europe
RankFullTeamPts %
8YesFlag of France.svg  France 28
11YesFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 19
12NoFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 17
13NoFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 15
14NoFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 15
15NoFlag of Malta.svg  Malta 14
16NoFour Provinces Flag.svg  Ireland 14
17YesFlag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 13
19NoFlag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 9
20YesFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 7
21NoFlag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 7
22NoFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 6
24NoFlag of Poland.svg  Poland 6
25NoFlag of Norway.svg  Norway 6
32NoFlag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 4
34NoFlag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 3
35NoFlag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 3
36NoFlag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 3
38NoFlag of Spain.svg  Spain 2
40NoFlag of Albania.svg  Albania 1
45NoFlag of Russia.svg  Russia 0
46NoFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 0
47NoFlag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
48NoFlag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 0
53NoFlag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 0
54NoFlag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 0
55NoFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0
56NoFlag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 0
References: [5] [6]

Venues

The venues selected for the tournament were: [7]

Carcassonne Saint-Estève
Stade Albert Domec Stade Municipal
Capacity: 10,000Capacity: 6,000
Stade Albert Domec Entree.jpg

Squads

On 16 October 2024, the squads were announced for the four nations competing in the tournament. [8]

France

PlayerClub
Jayson Goffin Flag of France.svg AlbiRLcolours.svg Albi
Nittim Pedrero Flag of France.svg AlbiRLcolours.svg Albi
Romain Franco Flag of England.svg Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls
Lucas Albert Flag of France.svg CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG Carcassonne
Vincent Albert Flag of France.svg CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG Carcassonne
Clément Boyer Flag of France.svg CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG Carcassonne
Nolan Lopez-Buttignol Flag of France.svg CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG Carcassonne
Guillermo Aispuro Bichet Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Alrix Da Costa Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Théo Fages Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Matthieu Laguerre Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Clement Martin Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Arthur Mourgue Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Romain Navarrete Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Arthur Romano Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
César Rougé Flag of France.svg Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons
Thomas Lacans Flag of England.svg Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers
Louis Jouffret Flag of England.svg Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers
Hugo Salabio Flag of England.svg Giantscolours.svg Huddersfield Giants
Mickaël Goudemand Flag of England.svg Rhinoscolours.svg Leeds Rhinos
Justin Sangaré Flag of England.svg Rhinoscolours.svg Leeds Rhinos
Ugo Tison Flag of England.svg Broncoscolours.png London Broncos
Hakim Miloudi Flag of France.svg PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia
Florian Vailhen Flag of France.svg PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia
Lambert Belmas Flag of France.svg ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
Benjamin Laguerre Flag of France.svg ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
Anthony Marion Flag of France.svg ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
Éloi Pélissier Flag of France.svg ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
Maxime Stefani Flag of France.svg ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
Mathieu Cozza Flag of England.svg Wcatscolours.svg Wakefield Trinity
Tiaki Chan Flag of England.svg Wigancolours.svg Wigan Warriors

Serbia

Nicholas O'Meley (Burleigh Bears), Nick Cotric (Catalans Dragons), Andrej Mora (Dorcol Tigers), David Nofoaluma, Sasha Popovic (Glebe Dirty Reds), Jake O’Meley (Lakes United Seagulls), Ilija Cotric (Mounties), Jesse Soric (NZ Warriors), Aleksandar Pavlovic, Djordje Krnjeta, Dzavid Jasari, Enis Bibic, Strahinja Stoiljkovic, (Partisan 1953), Jordan Grant (Penrith Panther), Stefan Arsic (Radnicki Nis), Marko Jankovic, Milos Calic, Nikola Djuric, Rajko Trifunovic, Vojislav Dedic, Vuk Strbac (Red Star), Joshua Coric (St George Illawarra).

Ukraine

Tim Knight (Caloundra Sharks), Daniel Janissen (Cardiff Cobras), Jonah Ngaronoa (Glebe Dirty Reds), Yevhen Checheta, Yevhen Davydov, Anatolii Hrankovskyi, Volodymyr Karpenko, Vitalii Puchkov, Dmytro Semerenko, Oleksandr Shcherbyna, Oleksandr Skorbach, Oleksandr Syvykoz, Mykhailo Troian, Yevhenii Trusov, Volodymyr Voitov (Kharkiv Legion XIII), Valentyn Korchak, Ostap Kozak (Lviv Tigers), Victor Tereszko (Queanbeyan Blues), Danylo Vedler (Rivne Giants), Brock Jurkans (Singleton Greyhounds), Tigris Polata (Southern Suburbs Magpies), Tom Mencinsky (Sydney University RLFC).

Wales

PlayerClub
Bailey Antrobus Flag of England.svg YorkRLFCcolours.png York Knights
Harry Boots Flag of England.svg Cornwallrlfccolours.png Cornwall
Sam Bowring Flag of England.svg Midlandshurricanescolours.png Midlands Hurricanes
Mike Butt Flag of England.svg Widnes colours.svg Widnes Vikings
Max Clarke Flag of England.svg Barrowcolours.svg Barrow Raiders
Joe Coope-Franklin Flag of England.svg Redscolours.svg Salford Red Devils
Connor Davies Flag of England.svg Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers
Curtis Davies Flag of England.svg Ramscolours.svg Dewsbury Rams
Gil Dudson Flag of England.svg Wolvescolours.svg Warrington Wolves
Will Evans Flag of England.svg Haven colours.svg Whitehaven
Ben Evans Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg NWCrucolours.png North Wales Crusaders
Jude Ferreira Flag of England.svg Hunsletcolours.svg Hunslet
Matty Fozard Flag of England.svg Widnes colours.svg Widnes Vikings
Charlie Glover Flag of England.svg Redscolours.svg Salford Red Devils
Elliot Kear (C) Flag of England.svg Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs
Ben Lane Flag of England.svg Saintscolours.svg St. Helens
Rhodri Lloyd Flag of England.svg Widnes colours.svg Widnes Vikings
Josh Ralph Flag of Australia (converted).svg St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons Reserves
Owen Restall Flag of England.svg Ramscolours.svg Dewsbury Rams
Luis Roberts Flag of England.svg Rhinoscolours.svg Leeds Rhinos
Ashton Robinson Flag of England.svg Rhinoscolours.svg Leeds Rhinos
Matt Ross Flag of England.svg Cornwallrlfccolours.png Cornwall
Anthony Walker Flag of England.svg Swintoncolours.svg Swinton Lions
Billy Walkley Flag of England.svg Cougscolours.svg Keighley Cougars
Rhys Williams Flag of England.svg Swintoncolours.svg Swinton Lions
Huw Worthington Flag of England.svg Haven colours.svg Whitehaven

Fixtures

Bracket

Semi-finals Final
      
8 Flag of France.svg  France 74
20 Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 8
Flag of France.svg  France 48
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 6
11 Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 0
17 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 48 Third-place playoff
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 50
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 10

Semi-finals

22 October 2024
17:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Serbia  Flag of Serbia.svg0–48Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
1st: 0–30
2nd: 0–18
Report
Tries: Fozard, Kear, Walker, Evans, Connor Davies, Butt, Worthington, Coope-Franklin
Goals: Fozard (7/7), Kear (1/1)
Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
Attendance: 1,257 [9]
Referee: Geoffrey Poumes (France)
Team details
SerbiaPositionWales
NameNumberNumberName
Nikola Cotic1
FB
1Billy Walkley
Rajko Trifunovic2
WG
2Joe Coope-Franklin
Nick O'Meley3
CE
3Mike Butt
David Nofoaluma4
CE
4Will Evans
Andrej Mora5
WG
5Rhys Williams
Jesse Soric6
SO
6Elliot Kear
Vojislav Dedic7
SH
7Josh Ralph
Jake O'Meley8
PR
8Huw Worthington
Sasha Popovic9
HK
9Matty Fozard
Milos Calic10
PF
10Ben Evans
Stefan Arsic11
SR
11Connor Davies
Nikola Djuric12
SR
12Max Clarke
Enis Bibic13
LF
13Sam Bowring
Dzavid Jasari14
IN
14Curtis Davies
Ilija Cotric15
IN
15Matt Ross
Djordje Krnjeta16
IN
16Anthony Walker
Marko Jankovic17
IN
17Ashton Robinson
Aleksandar Pavlovic18
CS
18Fin Yates
Darren Fisher
Coach
Mark Moxon

Wales head coach, John Kear, did not travel to France with the squad, after being admitted to hospital the preceding weekend. In his absence the team was coached by assistant coach, Mark Moxon. [10]

22 October 2024
19:30 CEST (UTC+02:00)
France  Flag of France.svg74–8Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
Tries: Vailhe, Budde, Pedrero (3), Vailhen, Pelissier (2), Zenon, Goffin, Jouffret, Aispuro Bichett (2), Marti
Goals: Albert (6/10), Aispuro Bichett (3/4)
1st: 48–0
2nd: 26–8
Report
Tries: Skorbach, Polata
Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
Attendance: 1,257 [11]
Referee: Stephane Vincent (France)
Team details
FrancePositionUkraine
NameNumberNumberName
Louis Jouffret1
FB
1Yevhhen Davydov
Nittim Pedrero2
WG
2Tigris Polata
Guilerno Aispuro Bichett3
CE
3Mykhailo Troian
Tanguy Zenon4
CE
4Jonah Ngaronoa
Clement Martin5
WG
5Danylo Vedler
Lucas Albert6
SO
6Oleksandr Skorbach
Thomas Lacans7
SH
7Daniel Janissen
Clement Boyer8
PR
8Oleksandr Syvokoz
Nolan Lopez-Buttignol9
HK
9Dmytro Semerenko
Florien Vailhen10
PF
10Volodymyr Karpenko
Jayson Goffin11
SR
11Yevhenii Trusov
Hnaloan Budden12
SR
12Tom Mencinksy
Mickael Goudemand13
LF
13Victor Tereszko
Eloi Pelissier14
IN
14Yaroslav Davydov
Tiaki Chan15
IN
15Vitalii Puchkov
Hugo Salabio16
IN
16Yevhen Checheta
Justin Sangare17
IN
17Valentyn Korchak
Laurent Frayssinous
Coach
Dan Beardshaw

Third-place playoff

The third-place playoff formed part of the tournament but had no bearing on qualification.

26 October 2024
17:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Ukraine  Flag of Ukraine.svg10–50Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
Tries: Vedler, Skorbach
Goals: Jannissen (0/1), Skorbach (1/1)
1st: 0–22
2nd: 10–28
Report
Tries: Popovic, Pavlovic (2), N. Cotic (2), I. Cotric, Nofoaluma, Jankovic, O'Meley
Goals: Soric (6/7), O'Meley (1/2)
Stade Municipal, Saint-Estève
Referee: Mo Drizza (France)
Team details
UkrainePositionSerbia
NameNumberNumberName
Yevhhen Davydov1
FB
1David Nofoaluma
Tigris Polata2
WG
2Rajko Trifunovic
Mykhailo Troian3
CE
3Nikola Cotic
Vitali Puchov4
CE
4Aleksandar Pavlovic
Danylo Vedler5
WG
5Andrej Mora
Oleksandr Skorbach6
SO
6Nick O'Meley
Daniel Jannissen7
SH
7Jesse Soric
Volodymyr Karpenko8
PR
8Jake O'Meley
Dmytro Semerenko9
HK
9Sasha Popovic
Oleksandr Syvokoz10
PF
10Enis Bibic
Jonah Ngaronoa11
SR
11Ilija Cotric
Yevhenii Trusov12
SR
12Nikola Djuric
Tom Menchinksy13
LF
13Stevan Stevanovic
Valentyn Korchak14
IN
14Vuk Štrbac
Yaroslav Davydov15
IN
15Milos Calic
Yevhen Checheta16
IN
16Marko Jankovic
Oleksandr Shcherbyna17
IN
17Jason Muranka
Dan Beardshaw
Coach
Darren Fisher

Final

26 October 2024
14:30 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Wales  Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg6–48Flag of France.svg  France
Tries: Williams
Goals: Fozard (1/1)
1st: 6–20
2nd: 0–28
Report
Tries: Romano, Rouge (2), Franco, Pelissier, Sangare, Fages, Belmas, Chan
Goals: Rouge (6/9)
Stade Municipal, Saint-Estève
Attendance: 2,150 [12]
Referee: Aaron Moore (England)
Team details
WalesPositionFrance
NameNumberNumberName
Billy Walkley1
FB
1Cesar Rouge
Joe Coope-Franklin2
WG
2Hakim Miloudi
Mike Butt3
CE
3Arthur Romano
Will Evans4
CE
4Mathieu Laguerre
Rhys Williams5
WG
5Romain Franco
Elliot Kear6
SO
6Ugo Tison
Josh Ralph7
SH
7Theo Fages
Huw Worthington8
PR
8Lambert Belmas
Matthew Fozard9
HK
9Alrix Da Costa
Ben Evans10
PF
10Tiaki Chan
Connor Davies11
SR
11Maxime Stefani
Matt Ross12
SR
12Mathieu Cozza
Sam Bowring13
LF
13Mickael Goudemand
Curtis Davies14
IN
14Eloi Pelissier
Anthony Walker15
IN
15Justin Sangare
Ashton Robinson16
IN
16Clement Boyer
Sam Grice17
IN
17Anthony Marion
Mark Moxon
Coach
Laurent Frayssinous

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References

  1. 1 2 "Rugby League World Cup qualification and World Series format revealed amid eligibility shakeup". The Roar. October 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ "International Rugby League Membership: Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Scotland reclassified". Rugby League International Federation. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "Scotland & Ireland see 2026 Rugby League World Cup qualification hopes ended". Love Rugby League. March 15, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Men's European World Cup qualifying details confirmed". europeanrugbyleague.com. ERLF. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "INTRL - World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation.
  6. ↑ "IRL World Rankings: June 30, 2024". Rugby League International Federation. 26 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Tickets on Sale for European RLWC Finals".
  8. ↑ "Squads Named for Men's European World Cup Qualifiers".
  9. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024 - Game 1 - Serbia 0 lost to Wales 48".
  10. ↑ "Statement: John Kear". Wales Rugby League. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  11. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024 - Game 1 - France 74 def. Ukraine 8".
  12. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024 - Game 1 - France 48 def. Wales 6".
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