The 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe will take place from March 21, 2025 to March 31, 2026. In total, 54 teams will compete in the qualifying round, to choose 16 places to participate in the World Cup in North America next year. Of which, the top 12 teams in the 12 qualifying groups will qualify directly, the remaining 4 places will go through the play-off round.
Some strong teams in Europe such as the Netherlands, England, Italy, Belgium, Croatia... have played qualifying matches in groups from G to L. From September 2025, the qualifying groups from A-E will begin to compete, with attention focused on the reigning EURO champions Spain, Germany, France, Portugal...
Spain, the second-placed team in the world, will start hunting for tickets to the 2026 World Cup with a away match against Bulgaria. After a few days, they will return home to meet Turkey. Fans are eagerly waiting for La Roja's performance (the nickname of the Spanish team), after they lost to Portugal in the 2025 Nations League final last June.
Spanish coach De la Fuente said the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be very difficult for him and his students. In Group E, his team also has to face Russia against star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. With the return of conductor Rodri, along with stars such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams... the Spanish team is considered a strong candidate for a ticket to the qualifying round.
Also paying attention will be on the French team, because they are in the final stages of coach Didier Deschamps' tenure. This strategist will leave the team after the 2026 World Cup and his goal is to lead the French team through the qualifiers and then win the North American championship.
Kylian Mbappe and his teammates won the 2018 World Cup, winning the runner-up position in 2022. They are considered one of the strongest teams in the world. With a squad of stars such as Mbappe, Dembele, Marcus Thuram... the French team is rated much higher than the teams of Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Iceland in Group D.
In Group F, Cristiano Ronaldo - 40 years old will continue to lead the Portuguese national team, with the task of being above the Republic of Ireland, Hungary and Armenia teams. Furthermore, Ronaldo's goal is to win the 2026 World Cup, the only major title he has lacked in his career.
As for Germany, they entered the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with great pressure. They have not reached the semi-finals of a major tournament since EURO 2016.
Currently, they are only ranked 9th in the world, but with the presence of many stars playing in England such as Florian Wirtz, Nick Woltemade... Julian Negelsmann's team still receives a lot of expectations. According to the draw results, Germany is in Group A with Slovakia, Northern Ailen and Luxembourg.
Italy, a four-time world champions, started the 2026 World Cup qualifiers poorly by losing 0-3 to Norway. That led to the dismissal of coach Luciano Spalletti. Despite beating Moldova 2-0, Italy are currently third in Group I, behind Norway (12 points) and Israel (6 points).
In September, Italy under the leadership of coach Gennaro Gattuso will meet Israel and Estonia. If they do not win all 6 points, they are at risk of not qualifying for the World Cup for the third consecutive time.
