Fans face precarious jaunts to Serbia, Albania, Armenia and deepest Kazakhstan
England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland all face daunting journeys for the qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
England must go to Belgrade and Wales to Brussels to play Serbia and Belgium respectively. Scotland travel to Greece and either Portugal or Denmark, depending on how each performs in the upcoming Nations League quarter-finals.
Similarly, Ireland face Portugal or Denmark, plus Hungary in Budapest, and Northern Ireland play either Germany or Italy, as well as Slovakia. Elsewhere, in a group of five, England have also been drawn against Albania, whose game with Serbia is a potential security nightmare, Latvia and Andorra. and Wales take on North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. Scotland will almost certainly meet Belarus at a neutral ground, while Ireland head to Armenia.
Of the 48 teams in the newly expanded finals, 16 will come from Europe, with only the winners of the 12 groups guaranteed a place. The runners-up must play off, with only four extra slots available.
In a more streamlined format than in recent qualifying tournaments, groups are either composed for four or five teams. Matches start in March 2025, the smaller groups the following September.
All groups conclude in November 2025, the play-offs – single-leg semi-finals followed by single-leg finals – in March 2026.
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