2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying info, format, fixtures & more

With England finishing their newest Nations League marketing campaign again in November – sealing promotion again to League A within the course of – their subsequent recreation will see them get their World Cup journey underway below the steerage of latest boss Thomas Tuchel.

Ideas will now flip to the qualifiers for the 2026 match, that are set to start in March 2025. It’s now lower than 18 months earlier than the following version of the quadrennial match, but some confederations are already halfway by way of their qualification course of.

Following December’s qualifying part draw, groups can begin to navigate a path to attending North American World Cup since 1994.

UEFA World Cup qualifying draw data

Groups have been drawn into 12 teams of 4 or 5 groups, enjoying one another house and away. Groups drawn in one of many 4 five-team teams will begin qualifying in March, whereas groups drawn in one of many six four-team teams will begin their campaigns in September. All teams conclude in November 2025.

England have been drawn into Group Okay, with Thomas Tuchel’s first assignments as England boss being house clashes in opposition to Albania and Latvia.

The 12 group winners will safe a spot on the 2026 World Cup, with the 4 remaining UEFA spots claimed by the winners of the play-offs involving the 12 runners-up.

UEFA World Cup qualifying play-offs

The runners-up from every of the 12 qualifying teams will safe a spot within the play-offs, together with the 4 best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 Nations League that didn’t end both first or second of their qualifying group.

These 16 groups will probably be drawn into 4 play-off paths, with 4 groups in every route. The semi-finals will probably be performed over a single leg, adopted by a single-leg remaining throughout the identical worldwide window in March 2026, simply months earlier than the beginning of the World Cup.

UEFA World Cup qualifying fixture dates

The group phases of the qualifiers will run between March and November 2025. The play-off fixtures will happen between twenty sixth and thirty first March 2026. As for the match itself, it should start on eleventh June, with the ultimate happening on nineteenth July 2026.

World Cup 2026 format

After seven successive tournaments with 32 individuals, from 2026 onwards, there will probably be a complete of 48 international locations battling it out to take house the World Cup trophy.

This implies every confederation will get extra locations on the remaining match. UEFA now will get 16 spots, CAF now will get 9 spots (up from 5) and AFC nations get eight spots fairly than the 4.5 they loved beforehand.

Elsewhere, CONCACAF groups could have six spots, with three going to the hosts USA, Canada and Mexico. CONMEBOL now has six spots, (up from 4.5), whereas OFC now has a assured spot, fairly than the 0.5 they beforehand had on provide.

With an expanded competitors comes a slight change in format. 48 groups will probably be cut up into 12 teams of 4 groups.

The highest two in every group will qualify for the knockout phases, in addition to the eight greatest third-placed groups, thus making a spherical of 32.

From then on, there will probably be a straight knockout match to see who will probably be topped the winner on the MetLife Stadium, which is located simply west of New York Metropolis.

The total record of venues and their capability might be discovered within the desk beneath, with the match returning to North America for the primary time since 1994.

The 1994 World Cup in the USA was the ultimate World Cup that featured 24 groups, whereas the following one within the US would be the debut of a 48-team competitors.

Earlier than all that, nevertheless, the UEFA qualifiers will see who from Europe will make it throughout the pond in 18 months.