FIFA announced today the configuration of the groups ahead of the draw for the European qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada. As already known, the Spanish team, directed by Luis de la Fuente, will be seeded in the event that will take place next Friday December 13, in Zurich, starting at 12 noon.
They are seeded together with La Roja the other seven teams that this November reached the quarterfinals of the Nations League: France, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Croatia and Denmark.
Four European teams will complete the pot of 12 seeds, leaving the previous eight, best classified in the FIFA ranking for the month of November: England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria.
In a group of 4 or 5 teams
Spain will know, when the Nations League quarterfinals against the Netherlands are played (the first leg will be played on March 20, 2025 and the second leg will be played three days later), if they are in the group of 4 or 5 teams in qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup.
just in case to access the Final Four of the Nations League, to be played from June 4 to 8, 2025, Spain will play a group of four and the qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup will begin in September 2025. If it is eliminated in the quarterfinals, it will begin its path to the World Cup in June 2025 in a group of five teams.
54 choices in 6 pots
The rest of the 54 participating teams will be distributed between pots 2, 3, 4 and 5 according to their position in the FIFA ranking. After the recent successes of Slovakia and the Czech Republic In their respective Nations League matches against Estonia and Georgia, they both secured a spot in Pot 2.
As established by the draw method, it will start with pot 1 and continue through the other pots. All balls are removed from each pot before moving to the next. The picks drawn from each bass drum will be assigned in order from group A to group L.
16 places in the 2026 World Cup
Sixteen European countries, instead of 13 until now, will get their ticket for the first 48-team World Cup, which will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
The European qualification stage It will consist of 12 groups (6 of five teams and another 6 of 4) which will be played from March to November 2025. The first of each of them qualifies directly for the final stage. The runners-up, as well as the first four in the Nations League group that ran out of options in the qualifying phase for the World Cup, will compete for the last four places in the playoffs to be played in March 2026.
The draw drums
Pot 1 (12 choices): France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria
Bass Drum (12 options): Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway.
Pot 3 (12 choices): Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel.
Pot 4 (12 choices): Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania
Pot 5 (6 choices): Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
