European Qualifiers For The 2026 FIFA World Cup: All You Need To Know
A total of 16 UEFA nations will compete at the 48-team FIFA World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are scheduled to begin in March 2025 and end with the play-offs in March 2026.
How do European Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup work?
Teams were drawn into 12 groups of four and five teams in Zurich on 13 December 2024. The groups involving teams in UEFA Nations League quarter-final action will be finalised after those ties in March, with the four winners placed in groups of four.
Qualifying begins in March, with teams drawn in groups of four start their campaigns in September. They will play traditional home-and-away matches and “all play all” principles retained. All groups conclude in November 2025.
World Cup qualifying draw
Group A: Germany/Italy winners, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo
Group C: Portugal/Denmark losers, Greece, Scotland, Belarus
Group D: France/Croatia winners, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan
Group E: Spain/Netherlands winners, Türkiye, Georgia, Bulgaria
Group F: Portugal/Denmark winners, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group G: Spain/Netherlands losers, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino
Group I: Germany/Italy losers, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova
Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra
Group L: France/Croatia losers, Czechia, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar
How many European teams qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
In total, 16 UEFA nations will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The 12 group winners qualify directly for the World Cup; the four remaining berths are determined by play-offs involving the 12 group runners-up.
How do play-offs for the 2026 World Cup work?
The 12 group runners-up will participate in the play-offs, along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that did not finish their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place.
The 16 teams who enter the play-offs will be drawn into four play-off paths, with four teams in each. Play-off matches will be played in single-leg semi-finals followed by single-leg finals within the same international window in March 2026.
World Cup 2026 European qualifiers: Key dates
Group stage match dates
March to November 2025
Play-off match dates
26 & 31 March 2026
