World Cup 2026: the date of the European qualification draw

UEFA will take 16 teams to a competition that will have 48 teams; find out what Portugal has to do to be in the competition

It will be on December 13, 2024 that Portugal and the other European teams will find out who their opponents will be in the fight to secure a ticket to the biggest World Cup ever, to be held in North America in 2026.

Europe will be the continent with the most representatives in the competition, with 16 teams.

How does qualification work?

All teams from the Old Continent will be divided into 12 groups of four or five teams. The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup.

The 12 teams that finish 2nd will advance to a qualifying play-off , which will also include the four best teams that won their respective Nations League groups and finished outside the top two in World Cup qualifying.

These 16 teams then enter a four-way play-off for final qualification, with semi-finals and finals all played over one leg – the same system was already applied this year for Euro 2024 .

When do the games start?

The five-team qualifying groups will begin in March 2025, the four-team groups will not begin until September and the group stage will end in November. The play-off games will only take place between 26 and 31 March 2026.

The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.