Futsal EURO 2026: Entries, format, calendar

UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 is the second edition since the switch from the biennial 12-team tournament to a 16-nation finals held every four years, following Netherlands 2022.

There were 48 entrants at the start of qualifying, with co-hosts Latvia and Lithuania progressing direct to the final tournament and 46 others competing for places. England return having not taken part in 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying.

• Hosts: Latvia & Lithuania
• Competition regulations

Qualifying format

Qualifying consists of three stages: preliminary round (mini-tournaments), main round (home and away groups) and play-offs (home and away).

• Hosts Latvia and Lithuania both enter in the final tournament.
• 12 teams began in the preliminary round, the other 34 (with the higher ranking as of December 2023) going directly into the main round.

Preliminary round (8–17 April 2024)

• The teams were drawn into three groups of four teams, played as mini-tournaments.
• The top two in each group progressed to the main round.

Group A: Cyprus, Andorra, Estonia, Northern Ireland

Group B: Israel, Bulgaria, Austria, San Marino

Group C: Switzerland, Malta, Gibraltar, Scotland

Qualified from preliminary round: Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Switzerland

Main round (9 December 2024–18 April 2025)

• The 40 teams (including the 34 entering directly in the main round) are drawn into ten groups of four.
• Each team faces the other teams in their group both home and away.
• The ten group winners join hosts Latvia and Lithuania in the finals, with the eight best runners-up entering the play-offs.

Entering directly in main round: Portugal (holders), Spain, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Finland, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Georgia, Netherlands, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Belgium, Belarus, Moldova, Germany, North Macedonia, Sweden, Montenegro, Kosovo, England, Denmark, Albania, Norway, Greece, Türkiye

Play-offs

• The eight teams are drawn into four ties, played over two legs, to decide the last four qualifiers.

Final tournament (between 18 January and 8 February 2026, exact dates TBC, hosts Latvia & Lithuania)

• The 16 teams (including the two co-hosts) will be drawn into four groups of four, with the top two from each progressing to the quarter-finals.

Knockout system:
Quarter-final 1: Winners Group B v Runners-up Group A
Quarter-final 2: Winners Group A v Runners-up Group B
Quarter-final 3: Winners Group C v Runners-up Group D
Quarter-final 4: Winners Group D v Runners-up Group C
Semi-final 1: Winners quarter-final 2 v Winners quarter-final 4
Semi-final 2: Winners quarter-final 1 v Winners quarter-final 3
Third-place match: Losers semi-final 1 v Losers semi-final 2
Final: Winners semi-final 1 v Winners semi-final 2