The date for the draw of the 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers has been announced.

FIFA has announced the date for the draw of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

DRAW ON DECEMBER 13

The draw for the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers will take place on Friday, December 13. The draw will start at 14:00 TRT at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

WHEN WILL THE 2026 WORLD CUP EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS START?

The 2026 World Cup Qualifiers are currently ongoing in five of the six confederations. In Europe, the qualifiers will begin in March 2025 and end in November 2025.

WHERE WILL THE 2026 WORLD CUP BE HELD?

The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Thus, the most important tournament in football history will be held for the first time in partnership with three different countries. The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 8 to July 8, 2026. The opening match of the tournament will be played in the United States, and the final match will be held at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, 48 TEAMS WILL PARTICIPATE

For the first time, 48 teams will participate in the World Cup, which has been played with 32 teams for many years. Therefore, the number of teams qualifying from Europe has been increased from 13 to 16.

12 GROUP WINNERS WILL QUALIFY DIRECTLY

The winners of the 12 groups, consisting of four or five teams, will earn the right to participate directly in the tournament. The remaining four teams will be determined through a 16-team playoff involving the 12 group runners-up and the best 4 group winners of the UEFA Nations League (who have not qualified directly for the World Cup as group winners or have not been able to participate in the playoffs as group runners-up).