UEFA member associations set to find out first step on the road to the biggest FIFA World Cup™ ever
Draw to be held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland
Event to be live-streamed across the globe on FIFA.com and FIFA+ as the countdown to the inaugural 48-team showpiece continues
With action-packed FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifiers already being contested in five of the six confederations, it will soon be the moment for the UEFA national teams to join the race for a coveted place at the biggest sporting event ever. The FIFA member associations affiliated to UEFA will discover their path to the game-changing tournament when the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26 takes place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, on Friday, 13 December 2024 at 12:00 CET.
The expansion of FIFA’s flagship event ahead of the 2026 instalment has seen the number of places for UEFA national teams increase from 13 to 16. It will be the most inclusive edition of the tournament yet, featuring a total of 48 teams for the first time. Fans across the globe will be able to follow the draw live via FIFA.com, FIFA+ and other official broadcasters. The full list of media partners that will broadcast the draw will be published on FIFA.com in due course.
The UEFA qualifying group stage will begin in March 2025 and conclude in November 2025. It will follow a familiar format, with 12 groups of four or five teams, and the group winners securing a place at the FIFA World Cup™. The four remaining places will then be decided in March 2026 in a 16-team UEFA play-off involving the 12 group-stage runners-up and the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League (UNL) 2024-25 group winners that have neither qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup as group winners nor entered the play-offs already as group runners-up.
Information on the FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers can be found at FIFA.com.