World Cup qualifying draw: Start time, how it works, pots and where to watch today
Thomas Tuchel will be present as England discover their opponents for 2026 World Cup qualifying this morning.
The German is poised to begin his new role at Wembley in January as the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, with the Three Lions having successfully earned promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League under interim boss Lee Carsley last month.
The number of nations competing at the 2026 World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico will be 48, up from 32, of which 16 will be European.
As such, qualifying for European teams is spread across 12 groups, of which six will have four teams and the other six will have five.
Here’s what else you need to know about today’s draw...
When is the World Cup qualifying draw?
The draw will be held today - Friday December 13, 2024 - in Zurich, Switzerland, at FIFA’s headquarters.
The ceremony will begin at 11am GMT in the UK, which is 12pm CET.
How to watch the World Cup qualifying draw
TV channel and live stream: The draw will be broadcast live on FIFA’s website, YouTube channel and on-demand TV service, FIFA+.
UK viewers can also watch the draw in full live online via the BBC Sport website.
How does the World Cup qualifying draw work?
Teams from each pot will be drawn and placed in separate groups. No teams from the same pot can be drawn into the same group.
There is no restrictions over England, in Pot 1, potentially being drawn with any of Wales, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
Once the groups are completed, teams will play each other twice - home and away - with the top team in each group qualifying automatically for the 2026 World Cup. Those who finish second will enter a play-off round.
World Cup qualifying draw pots
Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria
Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway
Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Kosovo, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania
Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino
When will the World Cup qualifiers be played?
The first matches will begin during the next international break, which is between March 21-25, 2025.
They will continue over the following four breaks - June 6-10, September 4-9, October 9-14 and November 13-18. The play-offs are scheduled for March 26-31, 2026.
The March start date is only for teams in five-nation groups, with the four-team groups getting underway later in September.
That means that if England end up in a five-team group, then Tuchel’s first games in charge will be in March qualifiers.
If not, expect the Three Lions to arrange some friendlies for the former Chelsea boss to start his reign before the summer.
