The draw for the group stage will take place on December 13 in Zurich, starting at 13:00
FIFA published the full and final composition of the participants of the future European qualification To World Cup 2026. The 54 participants are divided into five pots, from which 12 qualifying groups will be drawn at the draw on December 13.
Ukraine, as was already known in advance, fell into the second basket (together with Sweden, Turkey, Wales and eight other teams). Let us remind you that the blue-yellows lost their final chances of getting into pot 1 in October, after the next two rounds of the 2024/25 Nations League and the update of the ranking of European teams.
The first basket, in addition to the previously known France, Spain, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and Germany, was formed by Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria.
Cart 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria
Basket 2: UkraineSweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway
Basket 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel.
Basket 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania
Basket 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino
The draw for the group stage will take place on Friday, December 13, in Zurich. Starts at 12:00 Central European time or 13:00 Kyiv time.
According to the regulations, 54 teams will be divided into 12 groups of 4 or 5 participants. Qualifying matches will be played in a round-robin format (with each opponent home and away) from March to November 2025 (for groups with four teams – from September to November).
The group winners will go directly to the World Championships. Four more tickets will be played among the 12 teams that took second place, as well as the four best representatives of the 2024/25 Nations League. 16 opponents will be divided into four “paths”, in each of which one pass to the final part of the 2026 World Cup will be played in one-round duels (March 2026).
The 2026 World Cup will be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
Source: Sportarena
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