2026 World Cup and Qualifiers

8 out of 8 for England but there just had to be one nutcase on 606 last night advocating that Harry Kane shouldn't play for England, saying he doesn't score in big matches, and defences work him out.

Ridiculous bicycle kick from McTominay against Denmark .

Typical Scotland match, to quote the commentator, 'absolute bedlum'

But congratulations in reaching the finals.

Complete and utter bedlam at Hampden Park as Scotland have beaten Denmark 4-2 in a bonkers game to reach the World Cup automatically.

Meanwhile a ruthless Wales thrashed North Macedonia in Cardiff 7-1 to cement a playoff spot.

Crazy game of football, We've seen some crackers in these qualifiers. Got to love Hampden Park for late drama.

Unbelievable drama just pure bonkers ending lost count already how many times watching those goals back already

I'm done

Come on Scotland. YES !!!

Scotland scored some excellent goals. There's going to be some sore heads north of the border this morning..

With the teams set for the playoffs there is the unique opportunity that should both Wales & N. Ireland get through the playoffs it'll be the first time (since 62 I think), that all four home nations will have qualified for the Finals

Confirmed in play-offs as European Qualifiers group runners-up
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Wales

Confirmed in play-offs via Nations League route
Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia

Once the 16 play-off contenders have been determined, the 12 qualifying group runners-up will be ranked 1st to 12th on the basis of the FIFA Men's World Ranking issued prior to the draw, and the four teams having qualified from the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League will be ranked 13th to 16th.

Based on these FIFA rankings (1st to 16th), the 16 teams are divided into four pots as follows:

a. Pot 1 is composed of the top-seeded EQ teams ranked 1st to 4th.
b. Pot 2 is composed of the seeded EQ teams ranked 5th to 8th.
c. Pot 3 is composed of the unseeded EQ teams ranked 9th to 12th.
d. Pot 4 is composed of the unseeded UNL teams ranked 13th to 16th.

How does the European play-off draw work?
The draw starts with Pot 1 and ends with Pot 4. The four play-off paths are formed as follows:

a. Pot 1: the four top-seeded EQ teams are allocated to semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7 in the order drawn.

b. Pot 2: the four seeded EQ teams are drawn to the first available position of semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8.

c. Pot 3: the four unseeded EQ teams are drawn to the first available position of semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8.

d. Pot 4: the four unseeded UNL teams are drawn to the first available position of semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7.