2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The European section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification competition will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States, for national teams that are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). A total of 16 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams.

Entrants

All 55 FIFA-affiliated national teams from UEFA are able to submit an entry into qualification. However, Russia were suspended indefinitely on 28 February 2022 from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions due to their country's invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, it is unclear whether they will compete in the UEFA section of World Cup qualification.

Format

A revised qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 25 January 2023. As the number of final tournament slots for UEFA has increased from 13 to 16, the qualification format was modified from the previous cycle. The qualifying group stage will feature twelve groups of four or five teams. The winner of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams will advance to the play-offs, along with the four best-ranked group winners from the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League which finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. On 28 June 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee formally recommended the qualification format to FIFA, which was later approved.

• First round (group stage): Twelve groups of four or five teams will play home-and-away matches against all other teams in the group. Group winners will qualify for the World Cup.
• Second round (play-off stage): 16 teams (twelve group runners-up and four best Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group) will be drawn into four paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals with the seeded teams to host, followed by finals, with the home teams to be drawn). The four path winners will qualify for the World Cup.

Schedule

Below is the schedule of the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Teams drawn into groups of five will play their first matches in March 2025, or June 2025 if they are participating in the quarter-finals or promotion/relegation play-offs of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League. Teams drawn into groups of four will play their first matches in September 2025.

References

External links

• Official FIFA World Cup website
• European Qualifiers, UEFA.com