The 2026 World Cup qualification groups have been announced as England boss Thomas Tuchel discovers his opponents.
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2026 World Cup will have 48 teams54 teams drawn in 12 groups England find themselves in Group KFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱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.
AdvertisementWORLD CUP 2026 EUROPEAN QUALIFYING GROUPSGroup AWinner of Germany vs ItalySlovakiaNorthern IrelandLuxembourgN/AGroup BSwitzerlandSwedenSloveniaKosovoN/AGroup CLoser of Portugal vs DenmarkGreeceScotlandBelarusN/AGroup DWinner of France vs CroatiaUkraineIcelandAzerbaijanN/AGroup EWinner of Spain vs NetherlandsTurkiyeGeorgiaBulgariaN/AGroup FWinner of Portugal or DenmarkHungaryRepublic of IrelandArmeniaN/AGroup GLoser of Spain vs NetherlandsPolandFinlandLithuaniaMaltaGroup HAustriaRomaniaBosnia & HerzegovinaCyprusSan MarinoGroup ILoser of Germany vs ItalyNorwayIsraelEstoniaMoldovaGroup JBelgiumWalesNorth MacedoniaKazakhstanLiechtensteinGroup KEnglandSerbiaAlbaniaLatviaAndorraGroup LLoser of France vs CroatiaCzechiaMontenegroFaroe IslandsGibraltarAFPWHAT 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.