Overview
- The European group stage concluded on November 18 with those five teams claiming the last automatic spots for North America 2026.
- Tuesday’s decisive results included Scotland 4–2 Denmark, Spain 2–2 Turkey, Switzerland 1–1 Kosovo, Austria 1–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Belgium 7–0 Liechtenstein.
- Earlier direct qualifiers from Europe were England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.
- Sixteen teams will contest UEFA’s playoffs to award four additional World Cup places, with matches scheduled for March 26 and 31.
- Playoff entrants are group runners-up Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and the Czech Republic, plus Nations League group winners Romania, Northern Ireland, Sweden and North Macedonia.