See how European teams are faring in World Cup qualifiers | OneFootball

Despite the European qualifiers for the World Cup having already started in March, half of the teams will make their debut in the qualifiers this Thursday. With the new format proposed by UEFA, Gazeta Esportiva brings the qualification status of the teams from the Old Continent.

Groups in progress

The teams that did not compete in the last stages of the Nations League are grouped between Groups G and L, and have already started their journey towards the World Cup.

The highlights of these six keys are the world champions Italy and England, the traditional Netherlands and Croatia, Brazil's nemesis in 2018.

The English, Croatians and Dutch maintain 100% performance in their respective keys. Italy, on the other hand, started poorly, with one victory and one defeat to Norway, and at this moment, is missing out on the third consecutive World Cup.

Current situation in the groups

In bold: the teams that are directly qualifying for the World Cup. In italics: the teams that are going to the playoffs.

Debut in the Qualifiers

The teams that are between Groups A and F debut in the Qualifiers on this FIFA date. In keys with only four teams, the teams will have six matches to compete for one of the six direct spots for the World Cup.

Among the 24 teams, the leaders of the League A groups in the Nations League have the advantage of competing in the playoffs, if they do not qualify. Spain, Germany, Portugal and France will compete in the Qualifiers until the end, even if they do not advance through the groups.

If these teams advance, the playoff spots go to the best-placed teams in the last edition of the Nations League.

See the groups

Understand the format

Introduced by UEFA in this World Cup cycle, the UEFA Qualifiers offer 16 spots for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams for the first time in history.

The leaders of the 12 groups guarantee direct qualification to the World Cup, while the 12 runners-up and the four best-ranked by the Nations League who did not win a spot through the Qualifiers compete in the playoffs.

The group stage of the Qualifiers will end on November 18, 2025, while the playoffs, which define the last four European representatives, end on March 31, 2026.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.