UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup back in action | OneFootball

The UEFA Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup resume this week with matches on dates 5 and 6. The road to the World Cup, which for the first time will feature 48 participants and will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, already delivered its first thrills in March and June, and now will have a decisive chapter in terms of qualification.

Europe will have 16 spots for the big event. The competition format includes 12 groups, each with four or five members, granting direct qualification to the winners of each group.

The runners-up will play a playoff along with four teams from the UEFA Nations League. The playoffs will take place in March 2026 and will distribute the last four tickets.

So far, Groups A to F have not yet seen action, so the focus is on those that have already been active. In Group G, Finland is the leader with 7 points in four matches, although the Netherlands (6 pts. in 2 matches) and Poland (6 pts. in 3 matches) are very close.

In Group H, Bosnia and Herzegovina leads with a perfect score in three appearances, followed by Austria with two wins in two games. Meanwhile, in Group I, Norway is the big revelation with four victories in four matches, while Israel and Italy fight for the second spot.

In Group J, North Macedonia surprises by leading with 8 points in 4 matches, although Wales closely follows with 7 points. Belgium, which has just started its campaign, is third with 4 points in two matches.

In Group K, England dominates with a perfect score (9 out of 9) and is shaping up as a strong contender. Finally, in Group L, the Czech Republic leads with 9 points in 4 matches, but Croatia, with only two games played, already has 6 and aims to overtake them.

Action will resume this Thursday, September 4, with highlighted matches like Netherlands – Poland, Bulgaria – Spain, and Slovakia – Germany. Friday will feature heavyweight duels like Italy – Estonia, Ukraine – France, and Greece – Belarus.

England will host Andorra on Saturday, and Belgium will seek to regain ground on Sunday against Kazakhstan. Additionally, Monday will feature an exciting Croatia – Montenegro, and Tuesday will close the round with an unmissable Serbia – England.

With the standings still very tight in most groups, these two dates could start to set trends for direct tickets and the playoffs.

Date 5 Thursday, September 4

Saturday, September 6

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