The European or UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico is set to begin on 21st March 2025 and will continue for a year. The slots for Europe in the final tournament have increased from 13 to 16 teams with the World Cup expanded to 48 nations taking part. The modified qualification format will see a group stage featuring twelve groups of four to five teams with the group winners making it into the finals directly. The runners-up from each group and the four best-group winners from the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League that finished outside the top two of their World Cup qualifying group will move into the playoffs or the second round of the qualifying stage. 54 teams will participate in the qualifiers for a chance to be in the historical World Cup 2026 except Russia who are suspended.
The UEFA qualifiers underwent significant changes due to the format change, with the starting dates adjusted to align with the 2024-25 Nations League. 24 teams will be competing in the Nations League at that time with eight in the knockouts and the remaining teams in the promotion/relegation playoffs. Hence, not all teams will start the qualifiers in March 2025. Only one team participating in the Nations League, the losing quarterfinalists, was included in the five-team qualifying groups giving them free match days in the qualifiers after their Nations League campaign. The remaining four non-Nations League teams in those groups start their qualification campaign normally from the starting month. The quarterfinal winners of the Nations League will not start their qualifiers until September 2025 as the finals of that competition will take place in June of the same year.
Group A
Winner Q4 Nations (Germany)
Slovakia
Northern Ireland
Luxembourg
The quarter final winner in the Nations League, Germany will take on Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg in Group A being outright favourites to book their World Cup ticket directly. For Die Mannschaft, it will be their 21st appearance in the finals should they qualify. As an independent nation, Slovakia qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and wishes to repeat the feat this time being slight favourites to take the second spot that will take them to the playoffs. Northern Ireland has appeared in three World Cups before and should they qualify it will be their first appearance in the 20th century. Luxembourg is an underdog in this group, having participated in every World Cup qualifier since 1934, yet they have not reached the finals.
Fixtures
5 September 2025
Luxembourg vs Northern Ireland (00:15)
Slovakia vs Germany (00:15)
8 September 2025
Luxembourg vs Slovakia (00:15)
Germany vs Northern Ireland (00:15)
11 October 2025
Northern Ireland vs Slovakia (00:15)
Germany vs Luxembourg (00:15)
14 October 2025
Luxembourg vs Germany (01:15)
Slovakia vs Northern Ireland (01:15)
18 November 2025
Northern Ireland vs Luxembourg (01:15)
Germany vs Slovakia (01:15)
Group B
Switzerland
Sweden
Slovenia
Kosovo
It will be an entertaining tussle between Switzerland and Sweden to take the automatic qualifying spot for the World Cup which will happen by winning the group. While Switzerland qualified for the last five finals, Sweden missed the previous edition hosted by Qatar. They will hope their in-demand striker Viktor Gyökeres fires them through after helping the Swedes earn promotion to Nations League Group B with the team also missing out on Euros early in 2024. However, the race for the top spot may involve a three-horse race with Slovenia hoping to pose a significant challenge after a memorable Euro Championship campaign in June 2024 even though their Nations League journey did not end as expected. Slovenia has participated in two World Cups as an independent nation, with their most recent campaign occurring in 2010. Meanwhile, Kosovo are hoping for a miracle to qualify for their first major tournament in history in only their third qualifying journey as an independent nation.
Fixtures
5 September 2025
Slovenia vs Sweden (00:15)
Switzerland vs Kosovo (00:15)
9 September 2025
Kosovo vs Sweden (00:15)
Switzerland vs Slovenia (00:15)
11 October 2025
Kosovo vs Slovenia (00:15)
Sweden vs Switzerland (00:15)
14 October 2025
Slovenia vs Switzerland (00:15)
Sweden vs Kosovo (00:15)
16 November 2025
Slovenia vs Kosovo (01:15)
Switzerland vs Sweden (01:15)
19 November 2025
Kosovo vs Switzerland (01:15)
Sweden vs Slovenia (01:15)
Group C
Loser QF3 Nations League (Denmark)
Greece
Scotland
Belarus
Denmark will make their place in Group C after losing their Nations League quarter final tie against Portugal. That will make it a very interesting group with Greece and Scotland giving a tough battle for the top spot and even for the playoffs. The Danish Dynamite has participated in six World Cups and will hope to make a third straight qualification for the first time. However, a dull Euro campaign with concerning form could be seized upon by the Greeks aiming for a fourth World Cup and a first since 2014. The other candidate is the Tartan Army who are desperate to end their long wait to qualify for the Finals, last doing it in 1998. Steve Clark’s men came close to doing so in the previous qualification losing out to Ukraine in the playoffs in front of their home fans. There will be no expectation on Belarus and that might help them cause a few upsets, especially at home although it will be a mountain of a task having not qualified for a major tournament in history.
Fixtures
6 September 2025
Greece vs Belarus (00:15)
Denmark vs Scotland (00:15)
9 September 2025
Belarus vs Scotland (00:15)
Greece vs Denmark (00:15)
10 October 2025
Belarus vs Denmark (00:15)
Scotland vs Greece (00:15)
12 October 2025
Scotland vs Belarus (21:30)
13 October 2025
Denmark vs Greece (00:15)
16 November 2025
Greece vs Scotland (01:15)
Denmark vs Belarus (01:15)
19 November 2025
Belarus vs Greece (01:15)
Scotland vs Denmark (01:15)
Group D
Winner QF2 Nations League (France)
Ukraine
Iceland
Azerbaijan
France will be a part of Group D of the 2026 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifiers with beatable opponents on paper i.e. Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan. Les Bleus are favourites to go through as they look to make eight straight appearances having reached the tournament’s final in the past two editions. The battle for the playoffs will be the main focus point with Ukraine likely taking the spot as neither Iceland nor Azerbaijan look strong enough to beat them to the spot. The Yellow-Blue reached the playoff final last time by beating Scotland in the semis but were beaten by a resilient Wales. Ukraine made it to the World Cup just once as an independent nation, coming in the 2006 edition where they remarkably reached the quarterfinal.
Fixtures
6 September 2025
Iceland vs Azerbaijan (00:15)
Ukraine vs France (00:15)
9 September 2025
Azerbaijan vs Ukraine (21:30)
10 September 2025
France vs Iceland (00:15)
11 October 2025
Iceland vs Ukraine (00:15)
France vs Azerbaijan (00:15)
14 October 2025
Iceland vs France (00:15)
Ukraine vs Azerbaijan (00:15)
13 November 2025
Azerbaijan vs Iceland (22:30)
14 November 2025
France vs Ukraine (01:15)
17 November 2025
Azerbaijan vs France (22:30)
Ukraine vs Iceland (22:30)
Group E
Winner QF1 Nations League (Spain)
Turkey
Georgia
Bulgaria
Spain will be placed in Group E after defeating the Netherlands in the National League quarter final tie and will be the favourites to seal a place in the group stage of the World Cup two years later. The Euro winners are likely to win in this group alongside two teams that impressed in the competition Turkey and Georgia with Bulgaria being the fourth team in the mix. La Roja wants to repeat their incredible feat of winning the Euros and World Cup back-to-back by maintaining their streak of not failing to reach the finals since 1978, knowing they will co-host the 2030 edition. The battle for the playoffs will be interesting to watch with the Turks and the Crusaders crossing paths again like in the Euros. While Vincenzo Montella’s men beat the competition debutants back in the summer and the side having World Cup experience by playing in the tournament twice, the Georgians could pull off a miracle again using their first major tournament qualification experience at the Euros with their talisman Kvicha Kvaretskhelia leading them. Bulgaria could not be looked down upon as they have appeared in the finals seven times. Despite that, they are yet to qualify for the competition this century and have not experienced a major competition since 2004.
Fixtures
4 September 2025
Georgia vs Turkey (21:30)
5 September 2025
Bulgaria vs Spain (00:15)
7 September 2025
Georgia vs Bulgaria (18:30)
8 September 2025
Turkey vs Spain (00:15)
12 October 2025
Bulgaria vs Turkey (00:15)
Spain vs Georgia (00:15)
15 October 2025
Turkey vs Georgia (00:15)
Spain vs Bulgaria (00:15)
16 November 2025
Georgia vs Spain (22:30)
Turkey vs Bulgaria (22:30)
19 November 2025
Bulgaria vs Georgia (01:15)
Spain vs Turkey (01:15)
Group F
Winner QF3 Nations League (Portugal)
Hungary
Republic of Ireland
Armenia
Portugal, winners in their Nations League quarter final tie against Denmark in March 2025, will face Hungary, Republic of Ireland and Armenia in their battle to win their group. The Selecao have seen an upward trend under Roberto Martinez keeping aside a disappointing Euro and are looking to seal a sixth straight World Cup appearance, eighth overall. This will likely be the last World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo and he would like to win the silverware for the perfect send-off of his unforgettable career. Portugal should find little difficulty doing so with Hungary settling for the playoff spot. It will be a historical return for the Magyars if they manage to qualify for the World Cup having reached the final twice but not made it to the tournament since 1986. The Republic of Ireland has seen a sharp decline in their competitiveness since last making it to a major tournament in 2016 and it will ask a lot out of them to end their wilderness at the world stage since their last appearance in 2002. Armenia are chasing their debut World Cup qualification but it will be a colossal task for them as well to escape from this tough group despite playing in the qualifiers in every single edition since 1994.
Fixtures
6 September 2025
Armenia vs Portugal (21:30)
7 September 2025
Republic of Ireland vs Hungary (00:15)
9 September 2025
Armenia vs Republic of Ireland (21:30)
10 September 2025
Hungary vs Portugal (00:15)
11 October 2025
Hungary vs Armenia (21:30)
12 October 2025
Portugal vs Republic of Ireland (00:15)
15 October 2025
Republic of Ireland vs Armenia (00:15)
Portugal vs Hungary (00:15)
13 November 2025
Armenia vs Hungary (22:30)
14 November 2025
Republic of Ireland vs Portugal (01:15)
16 November 2025
Hungary vs Republic of Ireland (19:30)
Portugal vs Armenia (19:30)
Group G
Loser QF1 Nations League (Netherlands)
Poland
Finland
Lithuania
Malta
Netherlands confirmed their place in Group G of the Euro qualifiers after ending their campaign at the quarter final stage of the Nations League. The Dutch returned to the world stage in 2022 under the guidance of Ronald Koeman even though he did not manage in the tournament but will want to build on their run to the Euro semi-final to help them make it in the World
Cup for the 11th time. They will face Poland who will be looking for their third straight qualification and a 10th overall appearance in the World Cup. However, they will most likely have to go through the playoffs to achieve that. Finland, Lithuania and Malta are unlikely to pose significant challenges although the away games against them could be tricky. The Netherlands will start their campaign in June 2025.
Fixtures
22 March 2025
Malta vs Finland (00:15)
Poland vs Lithuania (00:15)
25 March 2025
Lithuania vs Finland (00:15)
Poland vs Malta (00:15)
7 June 2025
Malta vs Lithuania (21:30)
8 June 2025
Finland vs Netherlands (00:15)
11 June 2025
Finland vs Poland (00:15)
Netherlands vs Malta (00:15)
5 September 2025
Lithuania vs Malta (00:15)
Netherlands vs Poland (00:15)
7 September 2025
Lithuania vs Netherlands (21:30)
8 September 2025
Poland vs Finland (00:15)
10 October 2025
Finland vs Lithuania (00:15)
Malta vs Netherlands (00:15)
13 October 2025
Lithuania vs Poland (00:15)
Netherlands vs Finland (21:30)
14 November 2025
Finland vs Malta (22:30)
15 November 2025
Poland vs Netherlands (01:15)
18 November 2025
Malta vs Poland (01:15)
Netherlands vs Lithuania (01:15)
Group H
Austria
Romania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cyprus
San Marino
Austria has shown promise under Ralf Rangnick with an excellent Euro campaign in Germany and could make their place in the first World Cup since 1998. Even if they lose the top spot or miss the playoffs, Ragnick’s men could enter the second round of Euro qualifiers using their Nations League performance. Similarly, Romania could have a say in this with a commendable performance in Germany and a memorable Nations League campaign as they chase a first appearance in the Finals in 28 years. Bosnia and Herzegovina appeared for the World Cup only once in 2014 and are going through a rough patch but could still pose a considerable challenge for the playoff spot. Cyprus and the lowest-ranked team San Marino will have a difficult time. However, the latter caused a miracle by earning a promotion to League C of the Nations League which might help them a spot in the playoffs if they fail to do it normally through the qualifiers.
Fixtures
21 March 2025
Cyprus vs San Marino (21:30)
22 March 2025
Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (00:15)
25 March 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Cyprus (00:15)
San Marino vs Romania (00:15)
7 June 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs San Marino (18:30)
8 June 2025
Austria vs Romania (00:15)
11 June 2025
Romania vs Cyprus (00:15)
San Marino vs Austria (00:15)
7 September 2025
Austria vs Cyprus (00:15)
San Marino vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (00:15)
10 September 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Austria (00:15)
Cyprus vs Romania (00:15)
10 October 2025
Austria vs San Marino (00:15)
Cyprus vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (00:15)
15 November 2025
Cyprus vs Austria (21:30)
16 November 2025
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Romania (01:15)
19 November 2025
Austria vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (01:15)
Romania vs San Marino (01:15)
Group I
Loser Q4 Nations League (Italy)
Norway
Israel
Estonia
Moldova
Norway should be favourites to take the playoff spot with Italy potentially winning this group with Israel, Estonia and Moldova being the underdogs. If they qualify, it will be their first journey in the premier international competition for Italy since 2014 having failed to get into the last two editions including a heartbreaking defeat to North Macedonia in the playoffs in the previous qualifiers. While Israel could have some tricks on their sleeves, Norway should make it to the second round in the hope of qualifying for the first World Cup since 1998 and the first major tournament since 2000 possessing star striker Erling Haaland. Their recent Nations League show in which they earned promotion to League A could serve as motivation.
Fixtures
22 March 2025
Moldova vs Norway (21:30)
23 March 2025
Israel vs Estonia (00:15)
25 March 2025
Moldova vs Estonia (21:30)
