World Cup 2026: European qualification groups announced as England, France, Spain & Germany discover opponents

The 2026 World Cup qualification groups have been announced as England boss Thomas Tuchel discovers his opponents.

WHAT HAPPENED?
The 54 eligible member nations were distributed across 12 groups: six with four teams and six with five. Russia remains excluded due to its ongoing suspension. A total of 16 European teams will secure spots in the expanded 48-team World Cup. The 12 group winners will qualify directly, while the remaining four slots will be determined through play-offs scheduled for March 2026.

WORLD CUP 2026 EUROPEAN QUALIFYING GROUPS

Group A	Winner of Germany vs Italy	Slovakia	Northern Ireland	Luxembourg	N/A
Group B	Switzerland	Sweden	Slovenia	Kosovo	N/A
Group C	Loser of Portugal vs Denmark	Greece	Scotland	Belarus	N/A
Group D	Winner of France vs Croatia	Ukraine	Iceland	Azerbaijan	N/A
Group E	Winner of Spain vs Netherlands	Turkiye	Georgia	Bulgaria	N/A
Group F	Winner of Portugal or Denmark	Hungary	Republic of Ireland	Armenia	N/A
Group G	Loser of Spain vs Netherlands	Poland	Finland	Lithuania	Malta
Group H	Austria	Romania	Bosnia & Herzegovina	Cyprus	San Marino
Group I	Loser of Germany vs Italy	Norway	Israel	Estonia	Moldova
Group J	Belgium	Wales	North Macedonia	Kazakhstan	Liechtenstein
Group K	England	Serbia	Albania	Latvia	Andorra
Group L	Loser of France vs Croatia	Czechia	Montenegro	Faroe Islands	Gibraltar

AFP
WHAT IS THE PLAYOFF PROCESS?
The play-offs will feature 16 teams: the 12 runners-up from the qualifying groups and the four best-ranked Nations League group winners who did not qualify directly or as runners-up. These 16 teams will be organised into four separate paths. Each path comprises a mini-knockout tournament, with the winner earning a place in the World Cup.

WHAT WERE THE RESTRICTIONS ON GROUP PAIRINGS?
Political, geographical, and climatic considerations were taken into account during the group allocation process to avoid certain match-ups. Political tensions meant Ukraine were not placed with Belarus, Kosovo could not be grouped with Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Gibraltar was prohibited from playing Spain.
Additionally, extreme weather conditions are a factor. Only two of the following countries - Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland - could be in the same group. The Faroe Islands and Iceland, being the most weather-sensitive, did not share a group. Geographical constraints also applied to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Iceland to minimise excessive travel distances during the qualifiers.
AFP
WHEN WILL THE MATCHES BE PLAYED?
The qualifiers will unfold across ten matchdays during five international windows. Matches will take place on these dates:
March 21-25, 2025
June 6-10, 2025
September 4-9, 2025
October 9-14, 2025
November 13-18, 2025
Teams will play a maximum of eight matches, meaning not all squads will feature in every window. The playoffs to finalize the remaining four spots are set for March 26-31, 2026.