With the 2024 international calendar winding down and the latest UEFA Nations League drawing to a close, eyes are starting to veer towards North America and the 2026 World Cup.
Sure, there are Nations League finals and play-offs yet to play out, but the 2025 calendar is set to be dominated by qualification campaigns for the grandest spectacle in sport.
While the likes of CONCACAF and the AFC have opted for protracted qualifying processes involving multiple rounds, UEFA prefer cramming all the games within a few months. The overlapping of the Nations League is bound to facilitate some confusion next year, but England, who’ll have qualifiers and qualifiers only on their mind under Thomas Tuchel in 2025, are one of the nations with a singular focus.
It’s not long until the Three Lions learn their opponents and here’s everything you need to know about UEFA’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
UEFA’s 2026 World Cup qualifying draw is scheduled for Friday 13 December 2024. It’s set to get underway at noon CET (11:00 GMT) and will take place at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
How does the 2026 World Cup qualifying draw work?
With Russia still banned from competing, UEFA’s remaining 54 member associations will be drawn into 12 groups of four or five teams.
Groups 1-6 will contain four teams and begin qualifying in September 2025, while Groups 7-12 will contain five teams and start in March 2025. The four 2024/25 Nations League semi-finalists must be placed into a four-team group as they won’t be able to take part in qualifying next June.
Moreover, with the Nations League play-offs not taking place until next March, only four qualifying groups will be complete when the draw is made in December.
The seedings have been confirmed for 2026 World Cup qualifying following the conclusion of the 2024/25 Nations League group phase. Here’s a breakdown of the four pots ahead of December’s draw.
Pot 1
|
Nation |
|---|
|
Spain |
|
Germany |
|
Portugal |
|
France |
|
Italy |
|
Netherlands |
|
Denmark |
|
Croatia |
|
England |
|
Belgium |
|
Switzerland |
|
Austria |
Pot 2
|
Nation |
|---|
|
Ukraine |
|
Sweden |
|
Turkey |
|
Wales |
|
Hungary |
|
Serbia |
|
Poland |
|
Greece |
|
Romania |
|
Slovakia |
|
Czech Republic |
|
Norway |
Pot 3
|
Nation |
|---|
|
Scotland |
|
Slovenia |
|
Republic of Ireland |
|
Albania |
|
North Macedonia |
|
Georgia |
|
Finland |
|
Iceland |
|
Northern Ireland |
|
Montenegro |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
Israel |
Pot 4
|
Nation |
|---|
|
Bulgaria |
|
Luxembourg |
|
Kosovo |
|
Belarus |
|
Armenia |
|
Kazakhstan |
|
Azerbaijan |
|
Estonia |
|
Cyprus |
|
Faroe Islands |
|
Latvia |
|
Lithuania |
Pot 5
|
Nation |
|---|
|
Moldova |
|
Malta |
|
Andorra |
|
Gibraltar |
|
Liechtenstein |
|
San Marino |
The qualifying schedule will be confirmed after the draw is made on 13 December, but we do know that teams will play each other home and away in a bid to top the group.
The 12 group winners will qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup and the final four UEFA-designated spots will be decided via the play-offs.
UEFA’s 2026 World Cup qualifying play-offs will take place in March 2026 with 16 nations competing.
The 12 group runners-up will be involved alongside the four best-ranked 2024/25 Nations League group winners who haven’t already qualified for the tournament.
The 16 nations that enter the play-offs will be drawn into four play-off paths, with four teams in each. The winners of each path will join the 12 qualifying group winners at the 2026 World Cup.