The last and biggest — certainly the most-celebrated — confederation to begin qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is UEFA, and Europe’s nations have learned their groups for qualification.
There are some tricky groups, perhaps none more than Group B, where Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, and Kosovo will tangle home-and-away over eight months.
[ MORE: How will 48-team 2026 World Cup work? ]
England’s main rivals for an automatic spot are Serbia. Norway’s path to a first World Cup for Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, and friends will have to include a pair of scraps with Italy, as well as Israel, Estonia, and Moldova. So far, so good — the Landslaget are 3-0 after beating Italy 3-0 in early June. Luciano Spaletti has been fired as Italy manager as the drama around the Azzurri continues.
Spain, Germany, Portugal and France will not begin qualifying until September due to their involvement in the UEFA Nations League finals.
European (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualification format
- First round (March 21-November 18, 2025): Twelve groups of 4-5 nations play round-robin, home-and-away. Group winners qualify for 2026 World Cup. Runners-up reach one of four playoff pahts
- Second round (March 26-31, 2025): Twelve group runners-up plus the four top remaining UEFA Nations League group winners are drawn into four semifinal and final paths. Four path winners qualify for 2026 World Cup.
European (UEFA) World Cup qualification schedule, dates
First round group stage
Groups A-F: March 21 – November 18, 2025
Groups G-L: September 4 – November 18, 2025
Second round – Semifinals — March 26
Second round – Finals — March 31
First round fixtures
Kickoff at 2:45 pm ET, unless otherwise stated
Monday, June 9
Kazakhstan 0-1 North Macedonia
Belgium 4-3 Wales
Croatia 5-1 Czechia
Estonia 0-1 Norway
Faroe Islands 2-1 Gibraltar
Italy 2-0 Moldova
Tuesday, June 10
Finland 2-1 Poland
Latvia 1-1 Albania
Netherlands 8-0 Malta
Romania 2-0 Cyprus
San Marino 0-4 Austria
Serbia 3-0 Andorra
Thursday, September 4
Kazakhstan vs Wales — 10 am ET
Georgia vs Turkiye — 12 pm ET
Lithuania vs Malta — 12 pm ET
Bulgaria vs Spain
Liechtenstein vs Belgium
Luxembourg vs Northern Ireland
Netherlands vs Poland
Slovakia vs Germany
Friday, September 5
Denmark vs Scotland
Faroe Islands vs Croatia
Greece vs Belarus
Iceland vs Azerbaijan
Italy vs Estonia
Moldova vs Israel
Montenegro vs Czechia
Slovenia vs Sweden
Switzerland vs Kosovo
Ukraine vs France
Saturday, September 6
Latvia vs Serbia — 9 am ET
Armenia vs Portugal — 12 pm ET
England vs Andorra — 12 pm ET
Austria vs Cyprus
Ireland vs Hungary
San Marino vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Sunday, September 7
Georgia vs Bulgaria — 9 am ET
Lithuania vs Netherlands — 12 pm ET
North Macedonia vs Liechtenstein — 12 pm ET
Belgium vs Kazakhstan
Germany vs Northern Ireland
Luxembourg vs Slovakia
Poland vs Finland
Turkiye vs Spain
Monday, September 8
Belarus vs Scotland
Croatia vs Montenegro
Gibraltar vs Faroe Islands
Greece vs Denmark
Israel vs Italy
Kosovo vs Sweden
Switzerland vs Slovenia
Tuesday, September 9
Armenia vs Ireland — 12 pm ET
Azerbaijan vs Ukraine — 12 pm ET
Albania vs Latvia
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Austria
Cyprus vs Romania
France vs Iceland
Hungary vs Portugal
Norway vs Moldova
Serbia vs England
Thursday, October 9
Finland vs Lithuania — 12 pm ET
Austria vs San Marino
Belarus vs Denmark
Cyprus vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Czechia vs Croatia
Faroe Islands vs Montenegro
Malta vs Netherlands
Scotland vs Greece
Friday, October 10
Kazakhstan vs Liechtenstein — 10 am ET
Belgium vs North Macedonia
France vs Azerbaijan
Germany vs Luxembourg
Iceland vs Ukraine
Kosovo vs Slovenia
Northern Ireland vs Slovakia
Sweden vs Switzerland
Saturday, October 11
Latvia vs Andorra — 9 am ET
Hungary vs Armenia — 12 pm ET
Norway vs Israel — 12 pm ET
Bulgaria vs Turkiye
Estonia vs Italy
Portugal vs Ireland
Serbia vs Albania
Spain vs Georgia
Sunday, October 12
San Marino vs Cyprus — 9 am ET
Faroe Islands vs Czechia — 12 pm ET
Netherlands vs Finland — 12 pm ET
Scotland vs Belarus — 12 pm ET
Croatia vs Gibraltar
Denmark vs Greece
Lithuania vs Poland
Romania vs Austria
Monday, October 13
Iceland vs France
North Macedonia vs Kazakhstan
Northern Ireland vs Germany
Slovakia vs Luxembourg
Slovenia vs Switzerland
Sweden vs Kosovo
Ukraine vs Azerbaijan
Wales vs Belgium
Tuesday, October 14
Estonia vs Moldova — 12 pm ET
Andorra vs Serbia
Ireland vs Armenia
Italy vs Israel
Latvia vs England
Portugal vs Hungary
Spain vs Bulgaria
Turkiye vs Georgia
Thursday, November 13
Armenia vs Hungary — 12 pm ET
Azerbaijan vs Iceland — 12 pm ET
Norway vs Estonia — 12 pm ET
Andorra vs Albania
England vs Serbia
France vs Ukraine
Ireland vs Portugal
Moldova vs Italy
Friday, November 14
Finland vs Malta — 12 pm ET
Croatia vs Faroe Islands
Gibraltar vs Montenegro
Luxembourg vs Germany
Poland vs Netherlands
Slovakia vs Northern Ireland
Saturday, November 15
Kazakhstan vs Belgium — 9 am ET
Cyprus vs Austria — 12 pm ET
Georgia vs Spain — 12 pm ET
Liechtenstein vs Wales — 12 pm ET
Turkiye vs Bulgaria — 12 pm ET
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Romania
Denmark vs Belarus
Greece vs Scotland
Slovenia vs Kosovo
Switzerland vs Sweden
Sunday, November 16
Hungary vs Ireland — 9 am ET
Portugal vs Armenia — 9 am ET
Albania vs England — 12 pm ET
Azerbaijan vs France — 12 pm ET
Serbia vs Latvia — 12 pm ET
Ukraine vs Iceland — 12 pm ET
Israel vs Moldova
Italy vs Norway
Monday, November 17
Czechia vs Gibraltar
Germany vs Slovakia
Malta vs Poland
Montenegro vs Croatia
Netherlands vs Lithuaine
Northern Ireland vs Luxembourg
Europe (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualification table — Draw, groups
Group A
- Germany
- Slovakia
- Northern Ireland
- Luxembourg
Group B
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Slovenia
- Kosovo
Group C
- Denmark
- Greece
- Scotland
- Belarus
Group D
- France
- Ukraine
- Iceland
- Azerbaijan
Group E
- Spain
- Turkiye
- Georgia
- Bulgaria
Group F
- Portugal
- Hungary
- Republic of Ireland
- Armenia
Group G
- Finland — 2-1-1 — 0 GD — 7 points
- Netherlands — 2-0-0 — +10 GD — 6 points
- Poland — 2-0-1 — +2 GD — 6 points
- Lithuania — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points
- Malta — 0-1-3 — -11 GD — 1 point
Group H
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3-0-0 — +3 GD — 9 points
- Austria — 2-0-0 — +5 GD — 6 points
- Romania — 2-1-1 — +4 GD — 6 points
- Cyprus — 1-0-2 — -1 GD — 3 points
- San Marino — 0-0-4 — -11 GD — 0 points
Group I
- Norway — 4-0-0 — +11 GD — 12 points
- Israel — 2-0-1 — +1 GD — 6 points
- Italy — 1-0-1 — -1 GD — 3 points
- Estonia — 1-0-3 — -3 GD — 3 points
- Moldova — 0-0-3 — -8 GD — 0 points
Group J
- North Macedonia — 2-2-0 — +4 GD — 8 points
- Wales — 2-1-1 — +4 GD — 7 points
- Belgium — 1-1-0 — +1 GD — 4 points
- Kazakhstan — 1-0-2 — -1 GD — 3 points
- Liechtenstein — 0-0-3 — -8 GD — 0 points
Group K
- England — 3-0-0 — +6 GD — 9 points
- Albania — 1-1-2 — +1 GD — 5 points
- Serbia — 1-1-0 — +3 GD — 4 points
- Latvia — 1-0-2 — -2 GD — 4 points
- Andorra — 0-0-4 — -8 GD — 0 points
Group L
- Czechia — 3-0-1 — +3 GD — 9 points
- Croatia — 2-0-0 — +11 GD — 6 points
- Montenegro — 2-0-1 — +1 GD — 6 points
- Faroe Islands — 1-0-2 — -1 GD — 3 points
- Gibraltar — 0-0-4 — -14 GD — 0 points
Europe (UEFA) 2026 World Cup qualification first round results
All times ET
The first two matchdays did not include teams participating in UEFA Nations League quarterfinal and relegation playoff games. That list is long and includes big names like Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Croatia, Netherlands, and Denmark.
Matchday 1
Friday, March 21
Cyprus 2-0 San Marino
England 2-0 Albania
Andorra 0-1 Latvia
Romania 0-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Poland 1-0 Lithuania
Malta 0-1 Finland
Saturday, March 22
Liechtenstein 0-3 North Macedonia
Moldova 0-5 Norway
Montenegro 3-1 Gibraltar
Israel 2-1 Estonia
Czechia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Wales 3-1 Kazakhstan
Matchday 2
Monday, March 24
Lithuania 2-2 Finland
England 3-0 Latvia — Reece James scored stunning free kick
Albania 3-0 Andorra
San Marino 1-5 Romania
Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-1 Cyprus
Poland 2-0 Malta
Tuesday, March 25
Moldova 2-3 Estonia
Liechtenstein 0-2 Kazakhstan
Gibraltar 0-4 Czechia
Montenegro 1-0 Faroe Islands
North Macedonia 1-1 Wales
Israel 2-4 Norway
Matchday 3
Friday, June 6
Czechia 2-0 Montenegro
Estonia 1-3 Israel
Gibraltar 0-7 Croatia
North Macedonia 1-1 Belgium
Norway 3-0 Italy — Recap, video highlights
Wales 3-0 Liechtenstein
Saturday, June 7
Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-0 San Marino
Andorra 0-1 England
Malta 0-0 Lithuania
Albania 0-0 Serbia
Austria 2-1 Romania
Finland 0-2 Netherlands
Matchday 4
Monday, June 9
Kazakhstan 0-1 North Macedonia
Belgium 4-3 Wales
Croatia 5-1 Czechia
Estonia 0-1 Norway
Faroe Islands 2-1 Gibraltar
Italy 2-0 Moldova
June 10
Finland vs Poland — 2:45pm
San Marino vs Austria — 2:45pm
Netherlands vs Malta — 2:45pm
Serbia vs Andorra — 2:45pm
Romania vs Cyprus — 2:45pm
Latvia vs Albania
Matchday 5 begins September 4, 2025
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