The European section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification competition will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States, for national teams that are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). A total of 16 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 March 2025 – 31 March 2026 |
| Teams | Maximum of 55 (from 1 confederation) |
Entrants
All 55 FIFA-affiliated national teams from UEFA are able to submit an entry into qualification. However, Russia were suspended indefinitely on 28 February 2022 from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions due to their country's invasion of Ukraine.[1] Therefore, it is unclear whether they will compete in the UEFA section of World Cup qualification.
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Northern Ireland
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Russia (suspended)
San Marino
Scotland
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Wales
Format
A revised qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 25 January 2023. As the number of final tournament slots for UEFA has increased from 13 to 16,[2] the qualification format was modified from the previous cycle. The qualifying group stage will feature twelve groups of four or five teams. The winner of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams will advance to the play-offs, along with the four best-ranked group winners from the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League which finished outside the top two of their qualifying group.[3] On 28 June 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee formally recommended the qualification format to FIFA,[4] which was later approved.[5][6]
- First round (group stage): Twelve groups of four or five teams will play home-and-away matches against all other teams in the group. Group winners will qualify for the World Cup.
- Second round (play-off stage): 16 teams (twelve group runners-up and four best Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group) will be drawn into four paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals with the seeded teams to host, followed by finals, with the home teams to be drawn). The four path winners will qualify for the World Cup.
Schedule
Below is the schedule of the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[7] Teams drawn into groups of five will play their first matches in March 2025, or June 2025 if they are participating in the quarter-finals or promotion/relegation play-offs of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League. Teams drawn into groups of four will play their first matches in September 2025.[3][8]
The qualifying groups are scheduled to be drawn following the UEFA Euro 2024, which is scheduled to conclude in mid-July 2024.[citation needed]
| Round | Matchday | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groups of five | Groups of four | ||
| First round (group stage) | Matchday 1 | — | 21–22 March 2025 |
| Matchday 2 | 24–25 March 2025 | ||
| Matchday 3 | 6–7 June 2025 | ||
| Matchday 4 | 9–10 June 2025 | ||
| Matchday 5 | Matchday 1 | 4–6 September 2025 | |
| Matchday 6 | Matchday 2 | 7–9 September 2025 | |
| Matchday 7 | Matchday 3 | 9–11 October 2025 | |
| Matchday 8 | Matchday 4 | 12–14 October 2025 | |
| Matchday 9 | Matchday 5 | 13–15 November 2025 | |
| Matchday 10 | Matchday 6 | 16–18 November 2025 | |
| Second round (play-offs) | Semi-finals | 26 March 2026 | |
| Finals | 31 March 2026 | ||