The draw for Turkey to take part in the second pot will start at 14.00 at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
A total of 12 groups, 6 with 5 teams and 6 with 4 teams, will be determined by the draw in which a total of 54 countries will participate. Türkiye will be in the group of 4 as it will play play-offs with Hungary in order to be promoted to League A in the UEFA Nations League in March.
The first matches in groups of five will be played in March, while matches in groups of four will start in September.
Countries will play a total of two matches with each opponent in the group, home and away. European qualifying group matches will end in November 2025.
BAGS
According to the statement made by FIFA, the bags in the European qualifiers were as follows:
Bag 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria.
Bag 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Türkiye, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czechia and Norway.
Bag 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel.
Bag 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Southern Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia and Lithuania.
5. Bag: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino.
Due to the decision taken by the UEFA Board of Directors, the teams whose names are mentioned below will not be able to be in the same group.
-Gibraltar / Spain
-Kosovo / Bosnia-Herzegovina
-Kosovo / Serbia
-Ukraine / Belarus
Since Iceland and the Faroe Islands are determined as the countries with the highest risks due to winter conditions, these two teams will not be allowed to be in the same group.
16 COUNTRIES WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE WORLD CUP FROM EUROPE
16 countries from Europe will have the right to participate in the 2026 World Cup, where a total of 48 teams will compete.
The 12 teams that top their groups in the European qualifiers will directly qualify for the World Cup.
For the last 4 tickets, a total of 16 teams will play play-off matches, with the participation of 12 group runners-up and 4 teams from the UEFA Nations League. Play-off matches will be played in March 2026.
THE OPENING MATCH OF THE WORLD CUP WILL BE ON JUNE 11, 2026
48 teams will compete in 12 groups in the 2026 World Cup and a total of 104 matches will be played throughout the organization.
The opening match of the world’s most important football tournament will be played on June 11, 2026, at the 83 thousand-seat Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.
The final match of the 2026 World Cup will be held on July 19, 2026, at the 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA.