London London. The draw seedings for 2026 World Cup qualifying groups in Europe were decided on Tuesday after Slovakia and the Czech Republic secured higher status in the final round of Nations League games. FIFA makes the draw for the 12 European qualifying groups in Zurich on December 13 . The 12 first-place teams will advance directly to the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next November. Four more entries are decided in the playoffs.
The top 12 seeded nations were revealed ahead of the Games on Tuesday. They are the Eight Nations League quarter-finalists, along with four more teams, including England, the highest ranked by FIFA. Slovakia's 1–0 win over Estonia and the Czechs beating Georgia 2–1 ensured they were among the second seeded teams. will complete the pot, which consists of the next 12 highest in the FIFA rankings.
These results push Scotland into Pot 3, where it risks being drawn into a tough group as it looks to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Europe has 16 entries in the first 48-team World Cup And the other four spots will be decided by a playoff knockout bracket in March 2026. The 16 playoff teams will be the 12 runners-up in the World Cup qualifying groups, with The same four teams that topped the Nations League group this week. These may include Northern Ireland, Moldova and San Marino.
The FIFA draw next month is unusually complex and lacks clarity on the day as the eight Nations League quarter-finalists will be placeholders. Their exact positions will be decided after the two-leg quarter-finals are played on March 20 and 23. Six groups of four teams and six groups of five teams will be allocated in the 54-team draw. Larger groups may start in March or June. Places in the four-team qualifying group are to be reserved for the four teams that will advance to the Nations League Final Four in June. They can start playing the World Cup group only in September.
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