2026 World Cup draw: Twelve European teams discover group stage opponents
Friday, December 5, 2025
Article summary
What are the groups? When was the draw? How did the draw work? What were the seeding pots? Who are Europe's qualifiers?
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The European teams confirmed to be heading to the 2026 FIFA World Cup have learned their opponents in the group stage following Friday's draw.
Europe's World Cup qualifiers
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
What are the 2026 World Cup groups?
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic, European Play-Off D winner (Czechia, Denmark, North Macedonia or Republic of Ireland)
Group B: Canada, European Play-Off A winner (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland or Wales), Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, European Play-Off C winner (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Türkiye)
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, European Play-Off B winner (Albania, Poland, Sweden or Ukraine), Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, IR Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, FIFA Play-Off Tournament winner 2 (Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname), Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, FIFA Play-Off Tournament winner 1 (DR Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia), Uzbekistan, Colombia
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
When was the 2026 World Cup draw?
The World Cup draw took place on Friday 5 December 2025 in Washington DC. It started at 12:00 local time (18:00 CET).
How did the 2026 World Cup draw work?
The teams representing the host countries were assigned to positions A1 (Mexico), B1 (Canada) and D1 (United States), as per the match schedule released last year.
The draw began with all the teams from pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It continued with pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.
What were the 2026 World Cup draw pots?
Pot 1
Canada
Mexico
United States
Spain
Argentina
France
England
Brazil
Portugal
Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
Pot 2
Croatia
Morocco
Colombia
Uruguay
Switzerland
Japan
Senegal
IR Iran
Korea Republic
Ecuador
Austria
Australia
Pot 3
Norway
Panama
Egypt
Algeria
Scotland
Paraguay
Tunisia
Côte d'Ivoire
Uzbekistan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Pot 4
Jordan
Cabo Verde
Ghana
Curaçao
Haiti
New Zealand
European Play-Off A winner (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland or Wales)
European Play-Off B winner (Albania, Poland, Sweden or Ukraine)
European Play-Off C winner (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Türkiye)
European Play-Off D winner (Czechia, Denmark, North Macedonia or Republic of Ireland)
FIFA Play-Off Tournament winner 1 (DR Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia)
FIFA Play-Off Tournament winner 2 (Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname)
2026 World Cup
The finals run from 11 June to 19 July 2026 across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
How did the European teams qualify for the World Cup?
There are a total of 16 UEFA berths available at the 48-team 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the 12 qualifying group winners assured of a final tournament place along with the four eventual play-off winners.
Qualified as group winners
Austria – third 1954 (World Cup best)
Belgium – third 2018
Croatia – runners-up 2018
England – winners 1966
France – winners 1998, 2018
Germany – winners 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014
Netherlands – runners-up 1974, 1978, 2010
Norway – round of 16 1938, 1998
Portugal – third place 1966
Scotland – group stage 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998
Spain – winners 2010
Switzerland – quarter-finals 1934, 1938, 1954
The final European places will be decided by the winners of the play-offs.
How the play-offs stand
The 12 group runners-up will participate in the play-offs, along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that did not finish their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place. The play-off draw on Thursday 20 November set the four paths.
Semi-finals (26 March 2026)
Path A
SF1: Italy vs Northern Ireland
SF2: Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Path B
SF3: Ukraine vs Sweden
SF4: Poland vs Albania
Path C
SF5: Türkiye vs Romania (18:00 CET)
SF6: Slovakia vs Kosovo
Path D
SF7: Denmark vs North Macedonia
SF8: Czechia vs Republic of Ireland
Finals (31 March 2026)
Path A: Wales / Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy / Northern Ireland
Path B: Ukraine / Sweden vs Poland / Albania
Path C: Slovakia / Kosovo vs Türkiye / Romania
Path D: Czechia / Republic of Ireland vs Denmark / North Macedonia
Qualified for play-offs as group runners-up
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Wales
Qualified for play-offs via Nations League route
Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia
The final overall 2024/25 Nations League rankings can be found here.
This article is for information only and all is subject to final confirmation from FIFA. Full details of how qualifying works can be found in the official regulations.