Passport? Check. North American Plug Adapter? Check. Dollars and Pesos? Check.
All that’s left is to actually book a spot at the World Cup – and the Republic of Ireland, England and the rest of the British nations will soon find out which teams stand in their way of reaching the 2026 tournament.
Well, the wait is nearly over as UEFA bigwigs are preparing the scene for another long-winded draw ceremony. Hooray!
Firstly, let’s get you up to speed on the next World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico as it’ll look a bit different to previous editions. The 32-team cap has been expanded to 48 which means more groups and more matches and only 16 will have exited before the knockout stage gets underway.
The expansion means UEFA nations are competing for 16 spots – an increase of three – so the qualification process should be pretty competitive.
World Cup odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise, everything you need to know about European qualification is below.
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers?
UEFA will conduct the qualification draw on Friday, 13th December 2024.
What are the pots for the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers?
The UEFA nations will be drawn into 12 groups of five or four teams. The full line-up will not be known until the conclusion of the UEFA Nations League play-offs, however.
Pot 1
Spain
Germany
Portugal
France
Italy
Netherlands
Denmark
Croatia
England
Belgium
Switzerland
Austria
Pot 2
Ukraine
Sweden
Turkey
Wales
Hungary
Serbia
Poland
Greece
Romania
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Norway
Pot 3
Scotland
Slovenia
Republic of Ireland
Albania
North Macedonia
Georgia
Finland
Iceland
Northern Ireland
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel
Pot 4
Bulgaria
Luxembourg
Kosovo
Belarus
Armenia
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Cyprus
Faroe Islands
Latvia
Lithuania
Pot 5
Moldova
Malta
Andorra
Gibraltar
Liechtenstein
San Marino
How many European teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
The 12 group winners will bag their place at the 2026 World Cup. The runners up and the four best Nations League group winners (based on the overall ranking in the Nations League table) that failed to finish in the top two then take part in the play-offs for the remaining four spots.
When is European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup?
The group stage of European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is scheduled to take place between Friday, 21st March 2025 and Tuesday, 18th November 2025.
Group Stage
Matchday 1 (Groups of 5) – 21-22 March
Matchday 2 (Groups of 5) – 24-25 March
Matchday 3 (Groups of 5) – 6-7 June
Matchday 4 (Groups of 5) – 9-10 June
Matchday 5 (Groups of 5) or Matchday 1 (Groups of 4) – 4-6 September
Matchday 6 (Groups of 5) or Matchday 2 (Groups of 4) – 7-9 September
Matchday 7 (Groups of 5) or Matchday 3 (Groups of 4) – 9-11 October
Matchday 8 (Groups of 5) or Matchday 4 (Groups of 4) – 12-14 October
Matchday 9 (Groups of 5) or Matchday 5 (Groups of 4) – 13-15 November
Matchday 10 (Groups of 5) or Matchday 6 (Groups of 4) – 16-18 November
The play-off semi-finals will be held on Thursday, 26th March 2026 and the finals on Tuesday, 31st March 2026.
Play-Offs
Semi-Finals – 26 March
Final – 31 March
When is the 2026 World Cup?
The 2026 World Cup is scheduled to start on Wednesday, 11th June and conclude on Saturday, 19th July.
Read More
- Shoot on over to Paddy Power News for the best Football Betting Tips & News
- All you need to know about how the UEFA Nations League affects qualifying for the 2026 World Cup
- How does the UEFA Nations League work? Groups and dates for 2024/25 tournament
- When is the UEFA Nations League Finals? Dates and schedule for 2025
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