The results of the draw for the European World Cup qualifiers are known!
*Winner/loser means the winner or loser of each of the UEFA Nations League 1/4 finals.
Changes in the number of places
The 2026 World Cup will be held in North America and for the first time 48 teams will compete in the final stages of the World Cup, while the number of places in Europe has increased from 13 to 16.
Rules for the teams participating in the European Groups play-offs for the World Cup:
The European Groups Play-Offs are divided into 4 groups of 4 teams each, for a total of 16 teams. Each group has two semi-finals and one final, all with a single match tiebreak system, and the eventual winners of the four group finals will get the last four World Cup places in Europe.
The 16 play-off teams consist of the 12 second-placed European pools and the four best-performing group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League (provided these teams did not advance directly to the World Cup as winners of the European groups, although he entered the play-offs as the second-placed group winner).
*If fewer than four eligible Nations League group toppers are selected, the remaining places will be awarded to the teams that finished at the top of the overall UEFA Nations League standings but failed to place in the top two of their UEFA qualifying group.
Once the 16 teams for the Play-Offs have been determined, the 12 runners-up from the Europa League qualifying groups will be ranked from 1st to 12th according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking (available end of November 2025). while the four teams that have progressed through the Nations League for the 2024/25 season are automatically ranked from 13th to 16th.
Pots for the 2026 UEFA World Cup Qualifiers
Pot 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria.
Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway.
Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel.
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania.
Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino.
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