England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have discovered their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents following Friday’s draw in Zurich.
England, under new head coach Thomas Tuchel, will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
Wales will meet familiar foes Belgium, plus North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein.
Scotland will play Greece, Belarus and the loser of the Portugal v Denmark Nations League quarter-final.
Northern Ireland are up against Slovakia, Luxembourg and the winner of the Germany v Italy Nations League game.
The games will be played across five international breaks between March and November 2025.
The top team from each of the 12 groups qualifies automatically for the World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico – with the second-placed teams going into the play-offs. A total of 16 European teams will qualify.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have been drawn in four-team groups and will not start their games until September.
The Scots face Greece, who are coincidentally also in their World Cup qualifying group, in a two-legged Nations League promotion-relegation play-off in March.
The draw in full
Some of the groups will not be finalised until after the Nations League quarter-finals in March
Group A: Germany/Italy (winner), Slovakia, NORTHERN IRELAND, Luxembourg.
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo.
Group C: Portugal/Denmark (loser), Greece, SCOTLAND, Belarus.
Group D: France/Croatia (winner), Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan.
Group E: Spain/Netherlands (winner), Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria.
Group F: Portugal/Denmark (winner), Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia.
Group G: Spain/Netherlands (loser), Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta.
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino.
Group I: Germany/Italy (loser), Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova.
Group J: Belgium, WALES, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Group K: ENGLAND, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra.
Group L: France/Croatia (loser), Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar.
Tuchel ‘excited’ to get started – managers react to draw
Tuchel, who will name his first England squad in March, said he does not see reaching the World Cup finals “as a given”.
“Qualification is key,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “We have to be serious and determined and show what we’re up for.
“The gap closes more and more between the big and small nations. We have to earn our top spot.”
Scotland will not know whether they play Portugal or Denmark until March, and do not know where the game against Belarus will be played.
Recent Belarus home games have been staged at neutral venues because of ongoing conflict in neighbouring Ukraine.
“First off, it’s to find out where the game will be played,” Scotland head coach Steve Clarke said.
“The most important thing is to concentrate on the team, the players, the way they’re going to play and make sure that wherever we play them and – put all the political stuff aside, for me – it’s just to concentrate that we get the points that we require from that game.”
Speaking about Northern Ireland’s game with Italy, manager Michael O’Neill told BBC Sport NI: “We don’t have anything to lose in that type of situation, playing one of the powerhouses of football.
“The way the group has come out, we’d have taken that before the draw.”
Wales head coach Craig Bellamy, who was appointed in July, said he was happy to be in a five-team group so his side do not have to wait until September to start off.
“I lived in Brussels so that’s nice,” he said, referencing the time he spent on the Anderlecht coaching staff. “Belgium are a team I know very well.
“I’m happy. It’s a good group. We’re going to have to do our homework very well and try to attack it and finish top of the group.”
How does World Cup qualifying work?
Six of the groups have four teams and six have five teams.
Teams will play each other home and away as usual.
The top team from each group qualifies automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the play-offs with four Nations League teams.
Those 16 play-off teams will be put into pots based on their records in the group and drawn into four paths with single-leg semi-finals and finals.
When are the games?
The games will be held over 10 matchdays during five international breaks.
Those international breaks are 21-25 March, 6-10 June, 4-9 September, 9-14 October and 13-18 November.
However, no team will play World Cup qualifiers on all of those dates because there is a maximum of eight games. They can play friendlies on any free dates.
Some teams will start in March, others will start in June, and four-team groups will not start until September.
Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, for example, will be playing Nations League promotion-relegation play-offs instead in March.
Teams who win the Nations League quarter-finals will not be in World Cup qualifying action until September.
The play-offs will be on 26-31 March 2026.
England begin their campaign on 21 March when Albania visit Wembley, while Wales host Kazakhstan the following day.
Northern Ireland’s opening game is on 4 September in Luxembourg with Scotland going to either Denmark or Portugal on 5 September.
When and where is the World Cup?
The World Cup will start on 11 June 2026 in Mexico City and end on 19 July in New Jersey.
The expanded 48-team tournament will last a record 39 days.
The new format will feature 12 four-team groups and a last-32 knockout round for the first time.
