November 29 – The draw pots for the UEFA 2026 World Cup qualifying groups have been decided with all eight Nations League quarter finalists, plus the four best-ranked UEFA nations (England, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria) as the top seeded teams.
The draw will create six groups of four nations and six groups of five, with teams playing all the others in their group home and away.
UEFA has 16 berths at the expanded 48-team World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada. Group winners will qualify directly for 2026.
Following the group stage 16 teams – the 12 group runners-up and four best Nations League group winners based that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group – will be drawn into four paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs. The four path winners will qualify for 2026.
The draw will be held on Friday December 13.
Group stage matches will begin in March 2025 and conclude in November 2025.
UEFA Preliminary Draw pots:
Pot 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria
Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Türkiye, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czechia and Norway
Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Israel
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia and Lithuania
Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino
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