2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Tournament details
Dates21 March 2025 – 31 March 2026
Teams54 (from 1 confederation)
← 2022
2030 →
UEFA European Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship

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.

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]

  • First round (group stage): Twelve groups of four or five teams will play home-and-away matches against all other teams in the group. Group winners will qualify for the World Cup.
  • Second round (play-off stage): Sixteen teams (twelve group runners-up and four best Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group) will be drawn into four paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals with the seeded teams to host, followed by finals, with the home teams to be drawn). The four path winners will qualify for the World Cup.

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]

Round Matchday Dates
Groups A–F Groups G–L
First round
(group stage) 		— Matchday 1 21–22 March 2025
Matchday 2 24–25 March 2025
Matchday 3 6–7 June 2025
Matchday 4 9–10 June 2025
Matchday 1 Matchday 5 4–6 September 2025
Matchday 2 Matchday 6 7–9 September 2025
Matchday 3 Matchday 7 9–11 October 2025
Matchday 4 Matchday 8 12–14 October 2025
Matchday 5 Matchday 9 13–15 November 2025
Matchday 6 Matchday 10 16–18 November 2025
Second round
(play-offs) 		Semi-finals 26 March 2026
Finals 31 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] 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.[11][12] 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).[13] 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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[13] The following restrictions will be applied with computer assistance:

  • Competition-related reasons: To allow for the parallel scheduling of World Cup qualifying and Nations League matches in March and June 2025, the following restrictions apply for allocating teams to groups of four or five:
    • Pot 1: The four teams participating in the 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals (identified as the winners of quarter-finals 1–4) will be guaranteed to be drawn into four-team groups (Groups A–F). All other teams from this pot can be drawn into any group.
    • Pots 2, 3 and 4: Nations League promotion/relegation play-off teams from these pots can be drawn into any-sized group, but can only join five-team groups (Groups G–L) that do not already contain a losing quarter-finalist or play-off participant. All other teams from these pots can be drawn into any group.
  • Prohibited clashes: For political reasons, matches between the following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes and cannot be drawn into the same group: Belarus–Ukraine, Gibraltar–Spain,[note 2] Kosovo–Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo–Serbia. (Additionally, Armenia–Azerbaijan was identified as a prohibited clash, but the teams will be in the same pot for the draw.)
  • Winter venues: A maximum of two teams whose venues are identified as having high or medium risk of severe winter conditions can be placed in each group: Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway.[note 3]
    • The two "hard winter venues" (Faroe Islands and Iceland) generally cannot host games in March or November, and therefore can not be drawn together; the others have to play as few home matches as possible in March and November.
  • Excessive travel: A maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries can be placed in each group:[note 4]
    • Azerbaijan: with Gibraltar, Iceland, Portugal.
    • Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus.[note 5]
    • Kazakhstan: with Andorra, England, France, Gibraltar, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales.

Seeding pots

The draw pots were announced on 28 November 2024,[15] based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking released on the same day.[16]

Pot 1[note 1]
QF Team Rank
1 File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain[QF] 3
File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands[QF] 7
2 File:Flag of France.svg France[QF] 2
File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia[QF] 13
3 File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal[QF] 6
File:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark[QF] 21
4 File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy[QF] 9
File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany[QF] 10
— File:Flag of England.svg England 4
File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium[PO] 8
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 20
File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria[PO] 22
Pot 2
Team Rank
File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine[PO] 25
File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 27
File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey[PO] 28
File:Flag of Wales (1959–present).svg Wales 29
File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary[PO] 30
File:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia[PO] 32
File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 35
File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania 38
File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece[PO] 39
File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia[PO] 41
File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 42
File:Flag of Norway.svg Norway 43
Pot 3
Team Rank
File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland[PO] 45
File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia[PO] 55
File:Flag of Ireland.svg Republic of Ireland[PO] 60
File:Flag of Albania.svg Albania 65
File:Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia 67
File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia[PO] 68
File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland 69
File:Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland[PO] 70
File:Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland 71
File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro 73
File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina 74
File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel 76
Pot 4
Team Rank
File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria[PO] 82
File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg 92
File:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus 98
File:Flag of Kosovo.svg Kosovo[PO] 99
File:Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia[PO] 100
File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan 110
File:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan 117
File:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia 123
File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus 130
File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg Faroe Islands 137
File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia 140
File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania 142
Pot 5
Team Rank
File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova 151
File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta 169
File:Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra 171
File:Flag of Gibraltar.svg Gibraltar 197
File:Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Liechtenstein 204
File:Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino 210
Banned from entering qualifying
Team Rank
File: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.[17]

Group A

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification A1 A2 A3 A4
1 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group B

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification B1 B2 B3 B4
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group C

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification C1 C2 C3 C4
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group D

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification D1 D2 D3 D4
1 D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD
2 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD
3 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group E

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification E1 E2 E3 E4
1 E1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD
2 E2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD
3 E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD
4 E4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group F

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification F1 F2 F3 F4
1 F1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD
2 F2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD
3 F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD
4 F4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: September 2025. Source: FIFA

Group G

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification G1 G2 G3 G4 G5
1 G1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 G2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 G3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 G4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 G5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group H

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification H1 H2 H3 H4 H5
1 H1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 H2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 H3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 H4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 H5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group I

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification I1 I2 I3 I4 I5
1 I1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 I2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 I3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 I4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 I5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group J

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification J1 J2 J3 J4 J5
1 J1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 J2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 J3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 J4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 J5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group K

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification K1 K2 K3 K4 K5
1 K1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 K2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 K3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 K4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 K5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Group L

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification L1 L2 L3 L4 L5
1 L1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 L2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to play-offs TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 L3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 L4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 L5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: FIFA

Second round

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA 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.[18]

Nations League team selection

{{#section-h:2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round|Nations League teams (four advance)}}

Draw

{{#section:2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round|Seeding}}

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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.

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions approved". UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Lisbon to host UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2025". UEFA. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Road to the FIFA World Cup 26 has begun". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions" (PDF). UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: All you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Everything you need to know about UEFA qualifying". FIFA. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "UEFA Preliminary Draw for FIFA World Cup 26 to take place on 13 December". FIFA. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". FIFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  14. ↑ "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. September 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  15. ↑ "UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26: procedures and seedings confirmed". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  16. ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking: Men's World ranking". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  17. ↑ "Draw procedure for the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 knockout stage and play-off draw – Fixture list procedure for the European Qualifiers 2024–26" (ZIP). UEFA Circular Letter. No. 64/2024. Union of European Football Associations. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  18. ↑ "UEFA Preliminary Competition for the FIFA World Cup 26 – Additional Competition Information" (PDF). FIFA. September 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

External links

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