The UEFA qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will see 12 group winners earn direct spots in the tournament.
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The UEFA qualification process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has officially begun, marking an exciting journey for European football teams aiming to secure their spot in the tournament. Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America will jointly host. In the 2026 FIFA World Cup UEFA Qualification, 55 UEFA Teams are playing for qualification.
All the National team members are part of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers will begin in March 2025 and end with the play-offs in March 2026.
UEFA has 16 slots in the final tournament available for UEFA teams. After the qualification round, 12 teams have qualified for the tournament’s final round. All groups will conclude in November 2025. We are sharing the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers (UEFA) below.
2026 FIFA World Cup UEFA Qualifiers
The format of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification for UEFA is divided into 2 different phases.
Format
The UEFA Executive Committee confirmed the qualification format during their meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on 13 December 2024. The qualification will depend on the result of the 2024-25 UEFA National League. The structure will maintain UEFA’s usual group stage/playoff stage structure, with only the specific format of the playoffs amended.
- Group stage: 12 groups of 4 or 5 teams. Group winners will qualify for the World Cup, and the draw for the group stage will take place in December 2024.
- Play-off stage: 16 teams ( 12 group runners-up and 4 best Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking). The four path winners will qualify for the World Cup.
UEFA Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 26 Draw
Here are the 12 qualifying groups for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Ukraine | Scotland | Bulgaria | Moldova |
| Spain | Sweden | Slovenia | Luxembourg | Andorra |
| England | Turkiye | Republic of Ireland | Belarus | Malta |
| Portugal | Wales | Albania | Kosovo | Gibraltar |
| Netherlands | Hungary | North Macedonia | Armenia | Liechtenstein |
| Belgium | Serbia | Georgia | Kazakhstan | San Marino |
| Italy | Poland | Finland | Azerbaijan | – |
| Germany | Romania | Iceland | Estonia | – |
| Croatia | Greece | Northern Ireland | Cyprus | – |
| Switzerland | Slovakia | Montenegro | Faroe Islands | – |
| Denmark | Czechia | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Latvia | – |
| Austria | Norway | Israel | Lithuania | – |
FIFA-Affiliated European Qualifiers Teams
| Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria | Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro |
| Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France | Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia (suspended) |
| Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy | San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales |
FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers Schedule
A total of 16 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams.
- Group stage draw
- 13 December 2024
- Group stage match dates
- 21–22 March 2025 to 16–18 November 2025
- Play-off match dates(Semi-finals and Final)
- 26-31 March 2026
- Final tournament dates
- 11 June to 19 July 2026
2026 FIFA World Cup UEFA Qualification Groups
| Group A Germany Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg | Group B Switzerland Sweden Slovenia Kosovo |
| Group C Denmark Greece Scotland Belarus | Group D France Ukraine Iceland Azerbaijan |
| Group E Spain Turkey Georgia Bulgaria | Group F Portugal Hungary Republic of Ireland Armenia |
| Group G Netherlands Poland Finland Lithuania Malta | Group H Austria Romania Bosnia Herzegovina Cyprus San Marino |
| Group I Italy Norway Israel Estonia Moldova | Group J Belgium Wales North Macedonia Kazakhstan Liechtenstein |
| Group K England Serbia Albania Latvia Andorra | Group L Croatia Czechia Montenegro Faroe Islands Gibraltar |
First Round of 2026 FIFA World Cup UEFA Qualification
The group matches started from UEFA on 4 September 2025.
(Last Update– 10 September 2025) and all European fixtures
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slovakia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 | Northern Ireland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Germany | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
| 2 | Kosovo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
| 3 | Sweden | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 |
| 4 | Slovenia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 4 |
| 2 | Scotland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 |
| 3 | Greece | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | Belarus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 | Iceland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 3 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
| 4 | Azerbaijan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 6 |
| 2 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 |
| 3 | Turkey | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 6 |
| 2 | Armenia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 |
| 3 | Hungary | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 1 |
| 4 | Republic of Ireland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 1 |
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | +11 | 10 |
| 2 | Poland | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 10 |
| 3 | Finland | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 |
| 4 | Lithuania | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 |
| 5 | Malta | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 2 |
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 12 |
| 2 | Austria | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 12 |
| 3 | Romania | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 7 |
| 4 | Cyprus | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 |
| 5 | San Marino | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 18 | −17 | 0 |
Group I
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | +21 | 15 |
| 2 | Italy | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 |
| 3 | Israel | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 9 |
| 4 | Estonia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 3 |
| 5 | Moldova | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 25 | −22 | 0 |
Group J
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Macedonia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 11 |
| 2 | Belgium | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 | +13 | 10 |
| 3 | Wales | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 10 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 |
| 5 | Liechtenstein | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 19 | −19 | 0 |
Group K
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 15 |
| 2 | Albania | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 |
| 3 | Serbia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 7 |
| 4 | Latvia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 4 |
| 5 | Andorra | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
Group L
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | +16 | 12 |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 12 |
| 3 | Faroe Islands | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 |
| 4 | Montenegro | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 6 |
| 5 | Gibraltar | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 17 | −15 | 0 |
UEFA Second Round
Qualified teams
- Runner-Up of Group A
- Runner-Up of Group B
- Runner-Up of Group C
- Runner-Up of Group D
- Runner-Up of Group E
- Runner-Up of Group F
- Runner-Up of Group G
- Runner-Up of Group H
- Runner-Up of Group I
- Runner-up of Group J
- Runner-Up of Group K
- Runner-up of Group L
What is the Schedule of the 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers?
The new schedule for the semi-final is out, the dates are from 26 March 2026, and the final matches are on 31 March 2026.
Groups of the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers ( UEFA )
16 UEFA nations will compete at the 48-team FIFA World Cup final in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The fixture list will be confirmed by FIFA in January 2025, the day following the draw. The Group stage match will run from March to November 2025.
When will the UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup begin?
The European qualifiers begin for five-team groups in March 2025 and for four-team groups the following September.
Top goalscorers
| S No | Country | Name | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | Erling Haaland | 9 |
| 2 | Croatia | Andrej Kramarić | 6 |
| 3 | Netherlands | Memphis Depay | 5 |
| 4 | Norway | Thelo Aasgaard | 5 |
| 5 | Belgium | Kevin De Bruyne | 4 |
| 6 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Edin Džeko | 4 |
| 7 | Czech Republic | Patrik Schick | 4 |
| 8 | England | Harry Kane | 4 |
| 9 | Spain | Mikel Merino | 4 |
