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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)
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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 will begin in March 2025, while groups of four will begin in September 2025.[2][7]

Round Matchday Dates
Groups of five Groups of four
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 5 Matchday 1 4–6 September 2025
Matchday 6 Matchday 2 7–9 September 2025
Matchday 7 Matchday 3 9–11 October 2025
Matchday 8 Matchday 4 12–14 October 2025
Matchday 9 Matchday 5 13–15 November 2025
Matchday 10 Matchday 6 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 FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2024. The remaining teams were allocated to Pots 2 to 5 based on the FIFA Men's 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 FIFA Men's 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:
    • 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 play-off teams from these pots can be drawn into any group size, but can only join five-team groups that do not already contain quarter-finalists or promotion/relegation play-off participants. 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 shall 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  Spain[QF] 3
 Netherlands[QF] 7
2  France[QF] 2
 Croatia[QF] 13
3  Portugal[QF] 6
 Denmark[QF] 21
4  Italy[QF] 9
 Germany[QF] 10
—  England 4
 Belgium[PO] 8
  Switzerland 20
 Austria[PO] 22
Pot 2
Team Rank
 Ukraine[PO] 25
 Sweden 27
 Turkey[PO] 28
 Wales 29
 Hungary[PO] 30
 Serbia[PO] 32
 Poland 35
 Romania 38
 Greece[PO] 39
 Slovakia[PO] 41
 Czech Republic 42
 Norway 43
Pot 3
Team Rank
 Scotland[PO] 45
 Slovenia[PO] 55
 Republic of Ireland[PO] 60
 Albania 65
 North Macedonia 67
 Georgia[PO] 68
 Finland 69
 Iceland[PO] 70
 Northern Ireland 71
 Montenegro 73
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 74
 Israel 76
Pot 4
Team Rank
 Bulgaria[PO] 82
 Luxembourg 92
 Belarus 98
 Kosovo[PO] 99
 Armenia[PO] 100
 Kazakhstan 110
 Azerbaijan 117
 Estonia 123
 Cyprus 130
 Faroe Islands 137
 Latvia 140
 Lithuania 142
Pot 5
Team Rank
 Moldova 151
 Malta 169
 Andorra 171
 Gibraltar 197
 Liechtenstein 204
 San Marino 210
Banned from entering qualifying
Team Rank
 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

Based on the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking, the best four Nations League group winners that finish outside the top two of their qualifying group will advance to the play-offs. If fewer than four Nations League group winners can be selected, the remaining spot(s) will be allocated to the best remaining team(s) in the Nations League interim overall ranking that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group.[18]

The table below shows the order in which teams will be selected based on the UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking.[note 6]

UNL Rank Team Qualifying
group
Nations League group winners
A 1  Spain (X)
2  Germany (X)
3  Portugal (X)
4  France (X)
B 17  England
18  Norway
19  Wales
20  Czech Republic
C 33  Romania
34  Sweden
35  North Macedonia
36  Northern Ireland
D 49  Moldova
50  San Marino
Nations League remaining teams
A 5  Italy
6  Netherlands
7  Denmark
8  Croatia
9  Scotland
10  Serbia
11  Hungary
12  Belgium
13  Poland
14  Israel
15   Switzerland
16  Bosnia and Herzegovina
B 21  Greece
22  Austria

Key

  • (X) Team is assured at least a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking

Draw

For the draw, the sixteen teams will be divided into four pots of four teams each. The twelve group runners-up will be allocated to pots 1 to 3, with seeding based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2025. The four teams qualified via the Nations League will be automatically seeded into pot 4. The play-off paths are structured as follows:[18]

  • Play-off Path A is formed by semi-finals 1 and 2, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final A.
  • Play-off Path B is formed by semi-finals 3 and 4, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final B.
  • Play-off Path C is formed by semi-finals 5 and 6, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final C.
  • Play-off Path D is formed by semi-finals 7 and 8, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final D.

The draw for the semi-finals will start with Pot 1 and complete with Pot 4. Teams will be drawn and assigned to the first available play-off semi-final (considering prohibited clashes) in numerical order, as follows:

  • The Pot 1 teams (seeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7 as the host team.
  • The Pot 2 teams (seeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8 as the host team.
  • The Pot 3 teams (unseeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8 as the away team.
  • The Pot 4 teams (unseeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7 as the away team.

The draw for the final hosts will take place immediately afterwards, with finals A, B, C and D each having one of their semi-finalists selected as the host team.

For political reasons, matches between the following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes and cannot be drawn into the same play-off path: Armenia–Azerbaijan, Belarus–Ukraine, Gibraltar–Spain, Kosovo–Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo–Serbia. The seeding pots for the semi-final draw are as follows.

Seeded Unseeded
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 (UNL)
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  4.  

Notes

  1. ^ a b 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 losers 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.
  6. ^ The table lists teams down to the lowest-ranked team that could potentially have received a play-off spot following the group stage draw.

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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b c "UEFA Preliminary Competition for the FIFA World Cup 26 – Additional Competition Information" (PDF). FIFA. September 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
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