European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: When is the draw and how Nations League impacts schedule

European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: When is the draw and how Nations League impacts schedule | Football News

November 20, 2024:

The group stage of the Nations League has ended, with attention now turning to the World Cup Qualifiers starting next March.

Following England’s 5-0 win over Republic of Ireland, new Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel has avoided a promotion play-off as his first assignment, meaning he will embark on a fresh Qualifying campaign for the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026.

A total of 16 UEFA nations will compete at the tournament – an increase of three from the previous edition in 2022. The European Qualifiers are scheduled to begin in March 2025 and end with the play-offs precisely a year later.

Scotland missed out on pot two of the World Cup qualifying draw after both Slovakia and Czech Republic won their final Nations League matches, leaving Steve Clarke’s side settling for a place in pot three along with Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

Wales, however, will be in pot two after topping their Nations League group to earn promotion to League A.

What are the World Cup European Qualifying pots?

Pot 1

Spain
Germany
Portugal
France
Italy
Netherlands
Denmark
Croatia
England
Belgium
Switzerland
Austria

Pot 2

Ukraine
Sweden
Turkey
Wales
Hungary
Serbia
Poland
Greece
Romania
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Norway

Pot 3

Scotland
Slovenia
Republic of Ireland
Albania
North Macedonia
Georgia
Finland
Iceland
Northern Ireland
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Isreal

Pot 4

Bulgaria
Luxembourg
Kosovo
Belarus
Armenia
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Cyprus
Faroe Islands
Latvia
Lithuania

Pot 5

Moldova
Malta
Andorra
Gibraltar
Liechtenstein
San Marino

When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers?

Teams are to be drawn into 12 groups of four or five teams in Zurich on Friday December 13.

Teams will play each other home and away. Teams drawn in groups of five will start Qualifying in March and teams drawn in groups of four start their campaigns in September. All groups conclude in November 2025.

UEFA will issue the fixture list with the dates and kick-off times of all 192 group-stage matches as soon as possible after the conclusion of the draw.

So will we know all the groups on December 13?

No. Due to the Nations League play-offs in March, it means only four groups will be complete as of December 13.

Eight of the 12 World Cup groups will not know their full line-up until after that point.

Four of the groups with four teams will get a ‘winner of play-off tie’ while another four will include a ‘loser of play-off tie’.

How many European teams qualify for the 2026 World Cup?

As mentioned, a total of 16 UEFA nations will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The 12 group winners qualify directly, with the four remaining berths 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 Nations League that did not finish their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place.

The 16 nations that enter the play-offs will be drawn into four play-off paths, with four teams in each. Play-off games will be played over single-leg semi-finals followed by single-leg finals within the same international window of March 2026.

So the Nations League still matters?

Very much so. When it comes to the draw for World Cup qualification, each national team involved will also be placed in a ranked table, based on the performance in the 2024/25 Nations League.

Essentially, the four highest-ranked teams who do not then secure an automatic place at the 2026 World Cup will be granted a play-off safety net.

World Cup 2026 European qualifiers: Key dates

Group-stage draw: December 13 2024
Group-stage match dates: March to November 2025
Play-off match dates: March 26-31 2026
Final tournament dates: June 11 to July 19 2026

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