Ukraine has been placed in Pot 2.

Pot 1 includes the UEFA Nations League quarter-finalists — Portugal, France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, as well as England, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria — the highest-ranked teams in the FIFA standings among European teams that did not play in the Nations League quarter-finals. The remaining teams are allocated to Pots 2 to 5 according to the updated FIFA rankings from November 28, with Ukraine ranked 25th.

World Cup 2026 Qualifiers

UEFA (Europe): 16 spots

The European qualifiers will take place from March 2025 to March 2026 and will consist of two rounds.

Pots before the group stage draw

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

Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkiye, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czechia, Norway.

Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel.

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

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

Ukraine will not be drawn into the same group as Belarus.

Details of the draw procedure in the FIFA release

Round 1: 12 groups of five or four teams will play in a traditional group format from March to November 2025. The 12 group winners will qualify directly for the final stage.

The 12 teams finishing second, along with the four best group winners from the UEFA Nations League 2024/2025 who finish below second in the European qualification group stage, will participate in playoff mini-tournaments.

Round 2: In March 2026, the playoff mini-tournaments will consist of one-match semi-finals and finals. The 16 participants will be divided into four playoff paths. The four winners will earn spots at the World Cup 2026.

AFC (Asia): 8 spots + 1 intercontinental playoff spot

CAF (Africa): 9 spots + 1 intercontinental playoff spot

CONCACAF (North and Central America): 3 hosts + 3 spots + 2 intercontinental playoff spots

CONMEBOL (South America): 6 spots + 1 intercontinental playoff spot

OFC (Oceania): 1 spot + 1 intercontinental playoff spot

Intercontinental Playoff: 2 spots

World Cup 2026 Final Tournament

The World Cup 2026 will be the first in history with 48 teams. 12 groups of four teams will be formed. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the Round of 16.

The matches will be held in 16 cities: Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey in Mexico, and Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle in the USA.

The opening match of the World Cup 2026 will be held on June 11, 2026, in Mexico City, with the final match to be held on July 19, 2026, in New York.