The draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in Europe has ended. Coach Tuchel’s England team has determined its opponents.
Under the new format, European World Cup qualifying will be split into two stages: the group stage and the play-off round. The group stage will follow the traditional format, with home and away matches, and will consist of 12 groups of four or five teams each.
The competition will last from March to November 2025. The top 12 teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. The runners-up in each of the 12 groups will advance to the play-off round, which will take place in March 2026, with 16 teams participating.
The play-offs will be played over two legs over semi-finals, followed by a two-legged final in the same time slot as the international fixtures. The 16 teams that have qualified for the play-offs will be drawn into four play-off legs of four teams each.
FIFA recently held the World Cup qualifying draw for Europe in Zurich (Switzerland). As a result, the big European teams were all drawn into fairly easy groups, which promises to help them achieve good results to win tickets to the biggest football festival on the planet in 2 years.
New coach Tuchel’s England team is in Group K with opponents Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra. Meanwhile, Ronaldo and his teammates in the Portuguese team will have to wait until the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals to know whether they will be in Group C or Group F.
The five-team group is expected to play its first match in March 2025 or June 2025 if it is involved in the semi-finals or promotion/relegation play-offs of the 2024/25 Nations League. The four-team group is expected to play its first match in September 2025.
The specific draw results are as follows:
Group A: Winner between Italy/Germany, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg
Group B : Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo
Group C: Winner between Portugal/Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Belarus
Group D: Winner between France/Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan
Group E: Winner between Spain/Netherlands, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria
Group F: Loser between Portugal/Denmark, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group G: Loser between Spain/Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino
Group I: Loser between Italy/Germany, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova
Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra
Group L: Loser between France/Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar
* The remaining matches in each group will be decided after the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals in March next year.