Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup has gotten underway around most of the world, but UEFA will just be getting going in the new year now that the UEFA Nations League has come to a close. The road to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada is starting around Europe as nations are beginning their qualifying rounds.
The top teams from each group will automatically qualify while the runners up will go into a playoff round for the remaining spots for the World Cup. This is a new format with more groups than before and now 16 UEFA teams qualify for the expanded 48 team World Cu, so qualifying will be broken down into 12 groups, six with four teams and six with five teams.
How to watch
- Date: Friday, Dec. 13 | Time: 6 a.m. ET
- Location: UEFA Headquarters — Zurich, Switzerland
- Live stream: FIFA+
Pots
Pot 1
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- England
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Italy
- Germany
- Croatia
- Switzerland
- Denmark
- Austria
Pot 2
- Ukraine
- Sweden
- Turkiye
- Wales
- Hungary
- Serbia
- Poland
- Romania
- Greece
- Slovakia
- Czechia
- Norway
Pot 3
- Scotland
- Slovenia
- Republic of Ireland
- Albania
- North Macedonia
- Georgia
- Finland
- Iceland
- Montenegro
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Israel
Pot 4
- Bulgaria
- Luxembourg
- Belarus
- Kosovo
- Armenia
- Kazakhstan
- Azerbaijan
- Estonia
- Cyprus
- Faroe Islands
- Latvia
- Lithuania
Pot 5
- Moldova
- Malta
- Andorra
- Gibraltar
- Liechtenstein
- San Marino
