draw
©IMAGO
The German national team achieved feasible tasks in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in both possible constellations. On the way to the finals in America, the DFB selection will play either against Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg or against Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova.
The DFB selection goes into the games with the self-confidence that “we want to come first in the group, no matter what happens,” said DFB sports director Rudi Völler before the draw.
The decisive factor is the German performance in the quarter-finals of the Nations League. If Germany wins the knockout round against Italy on March 20th and 23rd, the national team will be placed in Group A with Slovakia. As losers in the Nations League quarter-finals, the opponents in Group I would be the nations around Norway with star striker Erling Haaland. This was the result of the qualifying draw in Zurich.
Why does Nations League play a big role?
The background is that the quarter-final winners will play the Nations League final tournament in June and have no time for the European World Cup qualification. A total of 54 nations compete in twelve groups. The group winners are directly qualified for the mega tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada with 48 participants.
The runners-up in the group play playoffs for four more World Cup places with the four best-placed and not yet qualified group winners in the Nations League. Even if the DFB selection didn’t even come second in its qualifying group, the chance of qualification would still remain due to first place in the table in the Nations League group phase.
National coach Julian Nagelsmann had declared participation in the Nations League final tournament as a clear immediate goal for the DFB selection. The four-country finals would then most likely also take place in Germany. Accordingly, the national coach wants to be placed in the qualifying group with Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg.
The stadiums and venues for the 2026 World Cup at a glance
The Nations League finalists will not start qualifying for the World Cup until next September; the last matchday of the group phase is mid-November 2025. The games on the way to America are only an interim step for Nagelsmann. The declared goal is to win the title in 2026.