England have been confirmed as top seeds for the 2026 World Cup qualifying, despite their recent struggle to regain their position in the UEFA Nations League's top tier. The European football governing body has unveiled the pots for the upcoming qualifiers for the tournament set to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England finds itself in pot one, potentially setting up a group stage clash with Wales from pot two or Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland from pot three. The first four pots each contain 12 teams, with the initial eight spots in pot 1 reserved for the UEFA Nations League quarter-finalists.
England's high FIFA ranking also contributes to their favourable seeding for the draw scheduled for December 13. A total of 54 European teams will compete for 16 places at the expanded 48-team World Cup, with Russia still barred from participation.
The qualifying process will consist of 12 groups, with the winners all advancing, and the remaining four places awarded through play-offs. The entire group stage campaign is slated for 2025, with six groups of five teams kicking off in March, while the remaining six groups of four teams will commence their campaigns in September.
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The final matches in all 12 groups are due in November. Spain, Netherlands, France, Croatia, Portugal, Denmark, Italy and Germany join England, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria as the top-seeded teams, thanks to their impressive Nations League performances.
Once the groups have concluded, the play-offs will be held in March 2026. Four play-off spots will be reserved for Nations League group winners or high performers who finish outside the top two in their qualifying group.
UEFA has yet to start qualifying, while other confederations are well along the way. A number of Asian teams have a chance to earn one of eight direct qualification slots in March, with Iran, Japan and South Korea currently leading their groups.
CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) is less far along when it comes to finding out which three teams will join the three co-hosts. In South America, there are six games left to determine which six teams book an automatic spot, with no one over the line just yet.
Oceania will determine its one automatic qualifier and one play-off entrant in March, while Africa's automatic qualifiers will be confirmed in October 2025.
UEFA pots in full:
Pot 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria
Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Türkiye, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czechia and Norway
Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Israel
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia and Lithuania
Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino
