2026 World Cup qualifying draw: Date, time, live stream and everything you need to know

The 2026 World Cup qualifying draw takes place today, with 48 teams competing, including 16 from Europe, and will be streamed live on FIFA's website and YouTube channel

The 2026 World Cup qualifying draw for European teams will take place today, Friday, December 13, at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Here's everything you need to know about the draw and the road to the 2026 World Cup.

Draw details

- Date: Friday, December 13
- Time: 11am GMT (12pm CET)
- Location: FIFA headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland
- Live Stream: FIFA's website, YouTube channel, and FIFA+ on-demand TV service

Qualifying format

The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams, up from 32 in the previous edition. The qualifying process for European teams will consist of 12 groups, with six groups containing four teams and the other six groups containing five teams.

How the draw works

Teams in one pot will be drawn and placed in separate groups in a way that no teams from the same pot can be drawn into the same group. The groups will be filled with teams from the five pots, with the top team in each group qualifying automatically for the 2026 World Cup. Teams that finish second will enter a play-off round.

Pots and Teams

The teams have been divided into five pots based on their FIFA rankings. Here are the teams in each pot:

Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria

Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway

Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel

Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Kosovo, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania

Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino

Qualifying Schedule

The qualifying matches will be played over five international breaks:

- March 21-25, 2025 (only for teams in five-nation groups)
- June 6-10, 2025
- September 4-9, 2025
- October 9-14, 2025
- November 13-18, 2025

The play-offs are scheduled for March 26-31, 2026.