England face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, while Scotland could face either Portugal or Denmark, Wales face Belgium and Northern Ireland face Germany or Italy.
England Played in five-team Group K, Thomas Tuchel will lead the Three Lions against a Serbia the team they beat in the Euro 2024 group stage under Gareth Southgate thanks to Jude Bellingham’s headed winner.
England will also meet Albaniawhom they beat in four matches in qualifying for the 2002 and 2022 World Cups, Latvia – whom they have never played – and Andorrawhich they defeated 9-0 on aggregate during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
England’s first matches in this group will be at home, visiting Albania on 21 March 2025 and Latvia three days later.
Jude Bellingham scored England’s goal against Serbia at Euro 2024
Scotland will play in the four-team Group C, where the loser of the Nations League quarter-finals will play. Portugal and Denmarkas well as Greece and: Belarus.
Steve Clarke’s side also face Greece over two legs in March to decide whether they remain in the top flight of the Nations League.
They begin their World Cup qualifying campaign with trips to Portugal or Denmark on September 5, followed by Belarus three days later.
Scotland are unbeaten in their last three games with wins over Poland and Croatia as well as a draw with Portugal.
Wales were drawn in Group J of five teams Belgium:, Macedonia, Kazakhstan and: Liechtenstein.
Wales famously beat Belgium at Euro 2016 and will kick off qualification at home to Kazakhstan in March 2025 before away to North Macedonia.
“It’s a good group,” said Craig Bellamy, head coach of the Wales team. “We have to do our homework really well and hopefully try to attack them and top the group,” he said.
Northern Ireland will play against the winner in the four-team Group A Germany or Italy? from their Nations League quarter-final as well Slovakia and: Luxembourg. That group will begin in September 2025, with Michael O’Neill’s team out in Luxembourg and either Germany or Italy.
Republic of Ireland will also begin their qualifying campaign in September and have been drawn in the four-team Group F with the winner of the tournament. Portugal-Denmark Nations League quarter-finals and opening opponents Hungary and: Armenia:.
Qualification is Tuchel’s ‘priority’
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England manager Thomas Tuchel believes qualifying for the World Cup may not be as easy as many people think.
Answering the question about the match with Serbia and Albania, the head coach of the England team Tuchel answered.
“We have to take it very seriously. This is the first match against Latvia, so it’s a new challenge for all of us.
“And then we are clear favorites against Andorra, but qualification is the priority. We have to be determined and show what we are ready for.” group of people.”
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Football federation president Debbie Hewitt, who is also FIFA’s vice-president, has defended the governing body’s decision to back Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup.
Tuchel was asked if he was confident he would top the group and replied: .
“There are no such things as results that are already done. The smaller countries have become stronger. So we have to earn our place. We have to take our place.”
Clarke is “desperate” to get Scotland back to the World Cup stage
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Scotland manager Steve Clarke has addressed the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where they will face either Portugal or Denmark, Greece and Belarus.
Scotland head coach Steve: Clark: told Sky Sports News:
“I am never one of those people who look too deeply into the draws. you just have to accept what you get and get on with it. It could have been worse, it could have been better.
“(We have) a difficult basket with one team. It doesn’t matter if it’s Portugal or Denmark, we’ll know Greece very well next year because we’ll play them twice in March (in the Nations League play-offs) and twice later in the year.
“Belarus, I don’t know much about it now, but I’ll definitely do my homework and learn a lot more about them before we get to play them.
“We are in a group of four teams, we know what we have to do to finish first or second to qualify.
“For everyone involved with Scotland, we’re desperate to get back to the World Cup. That was 1998, a long time ago, I was still playing, so it was a long time ago.
“We want to get there. We appreciate that the Tartan Army want to be there too, they showed that in Germany in the summer, hopefully we can take them to the USA, Mexico and Canada.”
How many European teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
A total of 16 UEFA nations will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
The 12 group winners qualify directly, while the remaining four places are determined by a play-off involving the runners-up of the 12 groups.
The groups as a whole…
Group A
Germany or Italy (Nations League QF winner), Slovakia, Northern IrelandLuxembourg
Group B
Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo
Group C
Portugal or Denmark (Nations League QF loser), Greece, ScotlandBelarus
Group D
France or Croatia (Nations League QF winner), Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan
Group E:
Spain or Holland (Nations League QF winner), Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria
Group F:
Portugal or Denmark (Nations League QF winner), Hungary, Republic of IrelandArmenia:
Group G
Spain or Netherlands (Nations League QF loser), Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta
Group H:
Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino
Group I
Germany or Italy (Nations League QF loser), Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova
Group Ж
Belgium, WalesNorth Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group K:
EnglandSerbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra
Group L:
France or Croatia (Nations League QF loser), Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar
World 2026 World Cup European qualifying tournaments. key dates
- Group stage match dates: March 21-25, June 6-10, September 4-9, October 9-14 and November 13-18, 2025.
- Playoff dates: March 26-31, 2026
- The final dates of the tournament are from June 11 to July 19, 2026
When and where will the 2026 World Cup be held?
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup will take place from 11 June to 19 July 2026.
The tournament will take place in 16 cities in three North American countries United States, Canada and: Mexico. This is the first time the World Cup has been hosted by three countries.
The last time North America hosted the tournament was in 1994, when Brazil won after beating Italy on penalties.
The expanded World Cup will feature 48 teams, 16 more than in Qatar 2022, and will be played across three host countries for the first time.
2026 World Cup – Qualified Teams
Only three teams, the hosts, are sure of their place in the final USA, Canada and: Mexico.
World Cup 2026 schedule
The full schedule, with group games and kick-off times, will only be available after the draw for the final tournament, which FIFA says is expected in late 2025.
But FIFA has already announced the key dates and confirmed that the opening game will be played in Mexico City and the final will be played at New Jersey Stadium in New York, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
Group stage. June 11-27 32nd round. from June 28 to July 3 16th round. July 4-7 Quarter finalsJuly 9-11 Semi-finals. July 14-15 Third place playoff (“Bronze Final”). July 18 Final: July 19
