The draw for the qualifying round for The 2026 World Cup will take place on 13th December 2024.
Of UEFA's 54 participating countries (Russia is currently banned), they will all be drawn into 12 groups, 6 of 5 teams, and 6 of 4 teams.
| Pot 1 Spain Portugal Germany France Italy Holland Denmark Croatia England Belgium Switzerland Austria |
Pot 2 Ukraine Turkey Sweden Wales Hungary Serbia Poland Greece Romania Norway Slovakia Czech Republic |
Pot 3 SCOTLAND Slovenia Republic of Ireland Albania North Macedonia Georgia Finland Iceland Northern Ireland Israel Bosnia Herzegovina Montenegro |
Pot 4 Bulgaria Luxembourg Kosovo Belarus Armenia Kazakhstan Azerbaijan Estonia Cyprus Faroe Islands Latvia Lithuania |
Pot 5 Moldova Malta Andorra Gibraltar Liechtenstein San Marino |
The 12 group winners will automatically qualify for the finals. The 12 runners up, and the 4 best group winners from the Nations League (who are not already one of the top 2 from the qualifiers), will take place in the Play-offs.
On this day (2nd January)
1923:
Andy Paton was born on this day in Dreghorn.
1971:
Scot Gemmill was born on this day in Paisley.