Kosovo learns opponents for 2026 World Cup qualifiers today - everything you need to know about the draw

European national teams will discover their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents in today's (Friday) draw, which will be held at 12pm in Zurich, Switzerland.

A total of 16 UEFA teams will qualify for the expanded 48-team tournament to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But how does the draw work – and who could the home nations face?

How do World Cup qualifiers work?

The format for the European qualifiers has changed, with more - and smaller - groups than before.

There will be 12 qualifying groups for the World Championship. Six groups will have four teams and another six groups will have five teams each.

The teams will play each other at home and on the road as usual.

The top team from each group automatically qualifies for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into a four-team Nations League play-off.

Four of the 16 play-off teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

🗓️ Friday, December 13
⌚️ 12pm CET

The UEFA preliminary draw for #FIFAWorldCup 26... 🔜

- FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 12, 2024

How will the groups be divided?

All groups will contain one team each from pots one to four. Six of the groups will also have a team from pot five. There are some restrictions on which teams can be drawn in which groups and who they can face – more on that below.

Teams will be drawn in pot order – so first pot teams, then pot two and so on.

Vase 1: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria

Vase 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway

Vase 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Shqipëria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel

Vase 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Kosova, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania

Vase 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino

Read too Kosovo is confirmed in the fourth pot by FIFA for the qualifications for the World Cup

Who will enter a group of four?

The four teams that win the Nations League quarter-finals in March must each go into one of the four-team World Cup qualifying groups (Groups AF).

That's because the Nations League finals are played in June, leaving less room on the calendar for World Cup qualifiers.

Because this draw takes place before those matches, the quarter-finalists will be drawn as placeholders. For example, the winner of France vs. Croatia will go into one group, the loser into another.

A maximum of one losing Nations League quarter-finalist or one Nations League promotion-relegation play-off team can go into a group.

England are likely to be in a five-team group.

The bottom six teams will automatically enter the GL Groups.

Are there any other restrictions?

For political reasons, Ukraine and Belarus cannot be in the same group, nor can Gibraltar and Spain. Kosovo should be kept separate from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Weather is also a factor. Due to possible cold conditions, a maximum of two from Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway may be drawn together. Iceland and the Faroe Islands cannot fall together as they are considered the two countries most vulnerable to weather disruptions.

There are also geographic restrictions on who Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Iceland can face to avoid too many trips to the opposite side of Europe.

When are the matches?

The matches will take place over 10 match days during five international breaks.

These international holidays are March 21-25, June 6-10, September 4-9, October 9-14 and November 13-18.

However, no team will play World Cup qualifiers on all those dates because there is a maximum of eight matches.

Some teams will start in March, others will start in June and the four-team groups won't start until September.

The play-off matches will take place on March 26-31, 2026.

When is the World Cup?

The World Cup will begin on June 11 in Mexico City and end on July 19 in New Jersey.

The expanded 48-team tournament will last a record 39 days.

The new format will have 12 groups of four teams and a final round with direct elimination for the first time.

/Telegraph/