The qualifying draw for 2026 World Cup 2026 takes place this Friday. With a 48-team Finals now in place, there’s plenty of format change – Andy Schooler explains.
World Cup 2026: European Qualifying Format
The World Cup has – again – been expanded for its next edition. Forty-eight teams will compete in 2026 (up from 32 in 2022) and that means more European nations will make it to the Finals. In total, 16 UEFA sides will qualify for the World Cup. Only 13 did so in 2022. Twelve of those will be the qualifying group winners – teams will compete in groups of four or five, the draw for which takes place in Zurich on Friday (December 13) at 1100 GMT. There will be six groups of four and six groups of five.
World Cup 2026: New Play-Offs
The remaining four places will be decided by play-offs featuring the 12 group runners-up, plus four other sides, determined by performance in the recently concluded UEFA Nations League campaign. These will essentially be the best Nations League teams who have not finished in the top two of their World Cup qualifying group.
With Northern Ireland having won their Nations League group earlier this season, they look well-placed to compete in the play-offs, if necessary. The 16 play-off teams will be split into four ‘paths’, each of which will feature two single-leg semi-finals, followed by a single-leg final.Due to their high FIFA ranking, England are among the top seeds for Friday’s draw. Wales will be in pot two, with Scotland and Northern Ireland down in pot three.
World Cup 2026: European Qualifying Group Draw
The draw was made on Friday, December 13, in Zurich and it resulted in the following groups:
Group A
Winner Germany-Italy (UNL QF4)
Slovakia
Northern Ireland
Luxembourg
Group B
Switzerland
Sweden
Slovenia
Kosovo
Group C
Loser Portugal-Denmark (UNL QF3)
Greece
Scotland
Belarus
Group D
Winner France-Croatia (UNL QF2)
Ukraine
Iceland
Azerbaijan
Group E
Winner Spain-Netherlands (UNL QF1)
Turkey
Georgia
Bulgaria
Group F
Winner Portugal-Denmark (UNL QF3)
Hungary
Republic of Ireland
Armenia
Group G
Loser Spain-Netherlands (UNL QF1)
Poland
Finland
Lithuania
Malta
Group H
Austria
Romania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cyprus
San Marino
Group I
Loser Germany-Italy (UNL QF4)
Norway
Israel
Estonia
Moldova
Belgium
Wales
North Macedonia
Kazakhstan
Liechtenstein
Group K
England
Serbia
Albania
Latvia
Andorra
Group L
Loser France-Croatia (UNL QF2)
Czechia
Montenegro
Faroe Islands
Gibraltar
As you can see, England will face Serbia again – the two sides met at Euro 2024 in June with the Three Lions winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jude Bellingham. As in 2022 World Cup qualifying, they are also in the same group as Albania and Andorra. England won all four of those matches without conceding.
The group is completed by Latvia, who England – now led by new manager Thomas Tuchel – will be facing for the very first time. Wales appear to have received a decent draw, landing in a pool containing only one side – Belgium – who played at Euro 2024. North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein will be their other opponents.
Scotland will have to wait until March to find out their exact opponents. They already know they will play Greece and Belarus and the outcome of the Nations League quarter-final between Portugal and Denmark will determine their other foe – Steve Clarke’s men will face the loser of that tie. Northern Ireland face a similar scenario. They will face the winner of the Germany v Italy quarter-final, as well as Slovakia and Luxembourg.
World Cup 2026: European Qualifying Play-offs
The group stage will reach its conclusion in November 2025 at which point the 16 teams who will contest the play-offs will be known. The 12 group runners-up will be joined by the four best-ranked Nations League group winners who have not finished in the top two of their World Cup qualifying group.
With Northern Ireland having won their Nations League group earlier this season, they look well-placed to compete in the play-offs, if they need to rely on that route. The 16 play-off teams will be split into four ‘paths’, each of which will feature two single-leg semi-finals, followed by a single-leg final. The winner of each path will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Those play-offs will take place in March 2026 – less than three months before the Finals.
World Cup 2026: Schedule and Fixtures
European World Cup qualifying will get under way in March. Other ‘matchdays’ are scheduled for June, September, October and November. The groups containing five teams will play their first matches in March, while those with only four teams will begin in September. Exact fixture dates should be known in the coming days.
As stated above, play-offs will take place in March 2026. World Cup qualifying in all the other continents is already under way – the first qualifiers were actually held in September 2023. The first Finals qualifier will be known in March 2025 when Oceania’s representative will be determined.
World Cup 2026: The Finals
The 2026 World Cup will be held in USA, Mexico and Canada between Thursday June 11 and Sunday July 19. The new format will see the 48 teams compete in 12 groups of four. The original idea of having 16 groups of three was rejected in the wake of the 2022 World Cup which produced a number of exciting group finishes using the four-team format. There was also concern about the potential for possible collusion in three-team groups.
The top two in each group, plus the eight best third-placed teams, will progress to a new last-32 knockout round. The competition is then played in a knockout format through to the final. The changes mean the champions (and the other three semi-finalists) will have to play eight matches. Overall, the tournament will now consist of 104 matches – up from 64 in 2022. The USA will host 78 of those, with Canda and Mexico staging 13 each.
Sixteen cities across the three countries will host matches, with MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey – home of the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets – the final venue. Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, venue of the 1986 final, has the opening game on June 11. It will feature co-hosts Mexico.
World Cup 2026: Host Cities
United States: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle
Mexico: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey
Canada: Toronto, Vancouver
Most days in the group stage will feature four matches, which are expected to be played consecutively. The final round of group matches will be played across four days with each featuring six games in total. To ensure fairness, some of these will be played concurrently. Exact kick-off times are yet to be confirmed.
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