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

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, 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 qualifying group. On 28 June 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee formally recommended the qualification format to FIFA, which was later approved.

  • 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. Groups of five will begin in March 2025, while groups of four will begin in September 2025.

Round Matchday Dates
Groups of five Groups of four
First round
(group stage)
Matchday 1 N/A 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. 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.

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, will announce 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 1–6) and six groups of five teams (Groups 7–12).

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 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.

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. The four remaining teams in Pot 1 will be the next best-ranked teams in the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2024. In principle, the remaining teams will be allocated to Pots 2 to 5 based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking. However, adjustments to Pots 2 to 5 may be required depending on the number of teams needing the March 2025 window for the Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs.

Should a given draw pot include more Nations League play-off teams than the maximum number of qualifying groups able to contain such teams, a pot adjustment will be made. Such an adjustment will follow these principles:

  • A pot swap will be made between the lowest-ranked Nations League play-off participant of the pot in question and the highest-ranked compatible team of the lower pot.
  • The same procedure applies if an additional swap is required in the same pot or another pot.

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.

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 numerical 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.

The following restrictions will be applied with computer assistance:

  • Competition-related reasons:
    • 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 1–6).
    • Depending on the pot distribution of Nations League play-off teams, Pot 1 teams not involved in Nations League matches in March may need to be drawn into five-team groups (Groups 7–12).
    • Nations League play-off teams from Pots 2 to 4 are prioritised for allocation to four-team groups (Groups 1–6). If a play-off team is in Pot 5, they will be drawn into a five-team group (Groups 7–12) capable of accommodating such a team.
    • Additionally, teams not involved in Nations League matches in March from Pots 2 to 4 may be required to be drawn into five-team groups (Groups 7–12) to ensure a sufficient number of groups are available to contain Nations League play-off teams from the same or subsequent pots.
  • Prohibited clashes: For political reasons, matches between the following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes and cannot be drawn into the same group: Armenia–Azerbaijan, Belarus–Ukraine, Gibraltar–Spain, Kosovo–Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo–Serbia.
  • 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: Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Ukraine.
    • The two "hard winter venues" (Faroe Islands and Iceland) generally cannot host games in March or November, and therefore could 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:
    • Azerbaijan: with Gibraltar, Iceland, Portugal.
    • Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel.
    • Kazakhstan: with Andorra, England, Faroe Islands, France, Gibraltar, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales.

Seeding pots[]

Confirmed in Pot 1

Pot to be announced

First round[]

The group stage schedule will be confirmed by UEFA shortly after the draw.

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.

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.

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

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

  • 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.

Seeding[]

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.  
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  2.  
  3.  
  4.  
  1.  
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  3.  
  4.  
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External links[]

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
AFC
First round · Second round · Third round · Fourth round · Fifth round (play-off)
CAF

First round: (Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Group G · Group H · Group I) · Second round (play-offs)

CONCACAF
First round · Second round · Third round
CONMEBOL
Round Robin
OFC
First round · Second round · Third round
UEFA

First round: (Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Group G · Group H · Group I · Group J · Group K · Group L) · Second round (play-offs)

Play-offs
Inter-confederation play-offs
202425 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus '24 '25 · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia '24 '25 · Faroe Islands '24 '25 · Finland '24 '25 · France · Georgia '24 '25 · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland '24 '25 · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan '24 '25 · Kosovo · Latvia '24 '25 · Lithuania '24 '25 · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway '24 '25 · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '24 '25 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden '24 '25 · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales

Domestic cups

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands '24 '25 · Finland '24 '25 · France · Georgia '24 '25 · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland '24 '25 · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan '24 '25 · Kosovo · Latvia '24 '25 · Liechtenstein · Lithuania '24 '25 · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway '24 '25 · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '24 '25 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales

League cups

England · Finland · Iceland · Israel · Northern Ireland · Portugal · Scotland · Wales

Supercups

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · England · Estonia '24 '25 · Faroe Islands · France · Georgia · Germany · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan '24 '25 · Kosovo · Latvia '24 '25 · Lithuania '24 '25 · Malta · Moldova · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '24 '25 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Spain · Turkey · Ukraine

UEFA competitions
Champions League (qualifying phase and play-off round, League phase, knockout phase, Final) · Europa League (qualifying phase and play-off round, League phase, knockout phase, Final) · Conference League (qualifying phase and play-off round, Champions Path, Main Path, League phase, knockout phase, Final) · Super Cup
International competitions

2026 FIFA World Cup (qualification) · 2024–25 UEFA Nations League (League A, League B, League C, League D, Promotion/relegation play-offs, Finals, Final) · 2025 Finalissima · 2025 Euro Under-21 (qualification) · 2025 Euro Under-19 (qualification) · 2025 Euro Under-17 (qualification) · UEFA Regions' Cup

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