Urooj NazirAfter Friday’s draw in Zurich, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have learned who they will play against in the 2026 World Cup qualification round.
England will play Andorra, Latvia, Albania, and Serbia under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
In addition to North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, and Liechtenstein, Wales will face its old adversary, Belgium.
Scotland’s quarterfinal opponents will be Greece, Belarus, and the winner of Portugal vs. Denmark.
Slovakia, Luxembourg, and the victor of the Germany vs. Italy Nations League matchup are the opponents of Northern Ireland.
Five international breaks between March and November 2025 will be used to play the games.
With the second-place teams moving on to the play-offs, the top team from each of the 12 groups advances automatically to the World Cup, which will be hosted in the US, Canada, and Mexico. There will be sixteen European teams who qualify.
The games between Scotland and Northern Ireland, who were placed in four-team groups, won’t begin until September.
In March, the Scots will meet Greece in a two-leg Nations League promotion-relegation play-off, which also happens to be in their World Cup qualifying group.
The whole draw
Some of the groups will not be finalized until after the Nations League quarter-finals in March
Group A: Germany/Italy (winner), Slovakia, NORTHERN IRELAND, Luxembourg.
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo.
Group C: Portugal/Denmark (loser), Greece, SCOTLAND, Belarus.
Group D: France/Croatia (winner), Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan.
Group E: Spain/Netherlands (winner), Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria.
Group F: Portugal/Denmark (winner), Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia.
Group G: Spain/Netherlands (loser), Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta.
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino.
Group I: Germany/Italy (loser), Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova.
Group J: Belgium, WALES, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Group K: ENGLAND, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra.
Group L: France/Croatia (loser), Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar.
How does World Cup qualifying work?
There are six groups with four teams and six groups with five teams.
As usual, teams will play each other both at home and away.
The winners of each group advance to the World Cup automatically, while the runners-up advance to the playoffs with four Nations League teams.
Based on their group records, those 16 playoff teams will be placed in pots and divided into four groups, each with one-leg semifinals and finals.
When are the games?
The matches will be placed across five international breaks, spanning ten matchdays.
These international holidays fall on March 21–25, June 6–10, September 4–9, October 9-14, and November 13–18.
However, due to the eight-game limit, no team will participate in World Cup qualifying on all of those dates. On any available date, they can play friendlies.
Four-team groups won’t begin until September, while other teams will begin in March and June, respectively.
For instance, in March, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland will compete in the promotion-relegation play-offs of the Nations League.
World Cup qualifying play won’t begin until September for teams that go past the Nations League quarterfinals.
The playoffs are scheduled for March 26–31, 2026.
When and where is the World Cup?
The World Cup will start on 11 June 2026 in Mexico City and end on 19 July in New Jersey.
The expanded 48-team tournament will last a record 39 days.
The new format will feature 12 four-team groups and a last-32 knockout round for the first time.
