The Group Stage of the European section of the qualification competition for the 2026 World Cup has concluded. As always, there are winners and losers, and while fans of the table-topping qualifiers will be celebrating, others will be biting their nails as they await the second round of qualification: the play-offs.
In this article, we’ll explain which sides can book their tickets for North America next summer. We’ll also outline which nations still have the chance of getting there through the play-off route, and who they’ll face in their battle to make it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
UEFA World Cup Qualification Group Winners
✅ Groups confirmed.
🏆 Which nation’s next generation will lift the #U17WC? pic.twitter.com/BIiMOnr8t6
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 25, 2025
For the expanded 48-team World Cup, the group winners of each of the 12 UEFA qualifying groups have gained a place at the tournament. Here are the winners of the groups who will feature when the action starts in the USA, Canada and Mexico:
- Group A – Germany
- Group B – Switzerland
- Group C – Scotland
- Group D – France
- Group E – Spain
- Group F – Portugal
- Group G – Netherlands
- Group H – Austria
- Group I – Norway
- Group J – Belgium
- Group K – England
- Group L – Croatia
As you can see, the list of group winners includes most of the usual suspects, although Italy are conspicuous by their absence. The Azzurri could only manage second place in Group I behind free-scoring Norway, who were the highest-scoring European side during the qualification campaign (helped by a hatful of goals from Manchester City’s Erling Haaland).
Norway were also one of only two sides that won all their qualifying games. The other was Thomas Tuchel’s England, who not only won eight out of eight but also didn’t concede a single goal. The German boss has given England fans great optimism ahead of the tournament proper, but can the Three Lions live up to the standards they’ve set during their excellent qualification campaign? We’ll see next summer!
Scotland surpassed many people’s expectations to win Group C, ahead of two former Euros winners, Denmark and Greece, with Belarus making up the numbers. Steve Clarke’s Scotland clinched qualification in fantastic style in their final group game, beating Denmark 4-2 at Hampden Park with three belting goals (and a tap in), including a brilliant overhead kick from Scott McTominay and a strike from inside his own half from Kenny McLean in the dying moments of the game. The Scottish fans are sure to bring the party to North America next summer.
Which UEFA Nations Will Compete in the World Cup Play-offs?
All the sides that finished as runners-up in the 12 qualifying groups advanced to the play-offs. They will be joined by the four teams who earned their play-off spots based on their finishing positions in the 2024/25 Nations League, i.e. the best four Nations League group winners who had neither qualified for the World Cup by winning their group in the qualification campaign nor finished as runners-up (and hence made it to the play-offs anyway). The 12 teams who go into the play-offs after finishing as group runners-up are as follows:
- Group A – Slovakia
- Group B – Kosovo
- Group C – Denmark
- Group D – Ukraine
- Group E – Turkey
- Group F – Republic of Ireland
- Group G – Poland
- Group H – Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Group I – Italy
- Group J – Wales
- Group K – Albania
- Group L – Czech Republic
They will be joined by the following, who made the play-offs based on their Nations League results: Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, and Northern Ireland. The 16 teams have been split into four Paths of four teams: A, B, C, and D. Each path includes one-off semi-finals, the winners of which meet in the final. The four winners of the finals will advance to the World Cup proper.
The play-off draw took place on 20th November 2025, with the semi-finals taking place on 26th March 2026, and the finals on 31st March 2026. The highest ranking (seeded) sides were handed the advantage of playing their semi-finals on home soil. Here are the eight semi-finals, listed in their respective Paths.
Path A
- Wales v Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Italy v Northern Ireland
Path B
- Ukraine v Sweden
- Poland v Albania
Path C
- Slovakia v Kosovo
- Turkey v Romania
Path D
- Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland
- Denmark v North Macedonia
Which Sides Will Win the Play-offs?
After a decent if not spectacular qualification campaign, Craig Bellamy’s Wales will fancy their chances in their semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially with it being at home. They will face a tricky final, though, which will probably be against Italy. Anything can happen in the final, but we would back the Azzurri to edge it and make to the World Cup.
The other paths are wide open, but our picks for the eventual qualifiers would be Poland (who only lost once during qualifying), Slovakia, and the Republic of Ireland, who weren’t far off Portugal in Group F.