UEFA Preliminary Draw Charts Course for 54 Contenders in FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying
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Zurich, Dec 13 (NationPress) The pathway to the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been established for Europe's 54 contenders at the UEFA preliminary draw held in Zurich. A record total of 16 slots are available for UEFA representatives at the landmark 48-team tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the USA.
After the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals in March, eight of the 12 groups will only confirm their Pot 1 teams, as the victors and defeated in those matchups will be allocated to distinct groups. Exciting clashes are already on the horizon, including matchups like England vs. Serbia, Switzerland vs. Sweden, and Belgium vs. Wales.
The UEFA qualifying group stage is set to kick off in March 2025 and will wrap up by November 2025. It will maintain a familiar structure, comprising 12 groups with four or five teams each, where the group champions will earn a spot at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The remaining four slots will be determined in March 2026 through a 16-team UEFA playoff, which will involve the 12 group stage runners-up and the four top-ranked UEFA Nations League 2024-25 group winners that have not qualified directly as group winners or entered the playoffs as runners-up.
FIFA World Cup 2026: Results of the UEFA preliminary draw
Group A: Winner of Italy vs. Germany (QF4), Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo
Group C: Loser of Denmark vs. Portugal (QF3), Greece, Scotland, Belarus
Group D: Winner of Croatia vs. France (QF2), Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan
Group E: Winner of Netherlands vs. Spain (QF1), Turkiye, Georgia, Bulgaria
Group F: Winner of Denmark vs. Portugal (QF3), Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group G: Loser of Netherlands vs. Spain (QF1), Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino
Group I: Loser of Italy vs. Germany (QF4), Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova
Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra
Group L: Loser of Croatia vs. France (QF2), Czechia, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar
