2026 World Cup: Who can qualify in next round of European qualifiers?
France's forward Kylian Mbappe (C) is embraced by France's forward Hugo Ekitike (top) France's defender Theo Hernandez (R) and France's forward Kingsley Coman (L) as he celebrates after scoring France's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D European qualification football match between France and Azerbaijan at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris, on October 10, 2025. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
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The penultimate round of European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup takes place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Citizen Digital takes a look at which
teams can book a place at the tournament in the United States, Canada and
Mexico with a match to spare:
(Germany,
Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg)
No team can
qualify in the next round of fixtures. Luxembourg are already out of contention
for the top two places that either give direct qualification for first place or
a place in a playoff for second place.
(Switzerland,
Kosovo, Slovenia, Sweden)
Switzerland will
qualify for a sixth successive World Cup finals with victory over struggling
Sweden on Saturday if Kosovo fail to beat Slovenia.
The Swiss will
also qualify with a draw if Kosovo lose.
(Denmark,
Scotland, Greece, Belarus)
No team can qualify in the next round of
fixtures. Denmark and Scotland are already confirmed as the top two.
(France,
Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan)
Two-time World Cup winners France will qualify
for the 2026 finals with victory over Ukraine on Thursday.
(Spain, Turkey,
Georgia, Bulgaria)
European
champions Spain will qualify if they see off Georgia on Saturday and Turkey
fail to win against already-eliminated Bulgaria.
Spain, World Cup
winners in 2010, will also wrap up top spot with a draw if Turkey suffer a
shock defeat.
(Portugal,
Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia)
Portugal and
Cristiano Ronaldo will secure their ticket to the finals with a win over
Ireland on Thursday, or with a draw if Hungary fail to beat Armenia
(Netherlands,
Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta)
The Netherlands
will qualify with a win over Poland on Friday. Lithuania and Malta are already
unable to finish in the top two.
(Austria, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Romania, Cyprus, San Marino)
Austria will
confirm first place if they beat Cyprus on Saturday and Bosnia and Herzegovina
do not win against Romania.
(Norway, Italy,
Israel, Estonia, Moldova)
Norway will
reach their first World Cup since 1998 with a win over Estonia if Italy do not
beat Moldova on Thursday.
A victory over
the Estonians would all but secure a place for Norway, though, due to their far
superior goal difference over four-time world champions Italy.
(Belgium, North
Macedonia, Wales, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein)
Belgium will
qualify if they win in Kazakhstan on Saturday, leaving North Macedonia and Wales
to fight for second place.
(England, Albania,
Serbia, Latvia, Andorra)
England have
already qualified.
Albania can
secure a play-off place if they beat Andorra and Serbia lose to England.
(Croatia, Czech
Republic, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Gibraltar)
Croatia will seal top spot if the beaten
finalists in 2018 avoid a shock home defeat by the Faroe Islands on Friday.
The third-placed
Faroes will be out of top-two contention with a loss.
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