2026 World Cup Bubble Watch: No surprises in Europe's qualifiers, but March results set early tone
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European World Cup qualifying soft-launched in March. It won't kick into full gear until September, but six of the 12 groups — the ones with five teams, as opposed to four — are underway.
Thus far, there have been no surprises. England took six points from its first two games. The rest of the top seeds will join the fray in June and September. In total, 16 European countries will qualify, the most from any single confederation ever.
World Cup berths: 16
World Cup qualifying format: Europe's 54 eligible nations were split into 12 groups of four or five teams apiece. After a double round robin, the winner of each group qualifies for the World Cup. The runners-up, plus the four best-ranked teams remaining from a separate UEFA competition, the Nations League, go to playoffs — where they'd have to win two knockout matches to claim one of Europe's last four World Cup spots.
Standings | Schedule and results
Qualified: NoneConfident: Spain, France, England, Germany, PortugalBubble: Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Netherlands, Poland, Wales, Serbia, Scotland, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Turkey, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Slovenia, Greece, Ukraine, Iceland, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Israel, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, MontenegroLong shots: Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Belarus, Armenia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Cyprus, Moldova, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Faroe Islands, GibraltarEliminated: NoneBanned: Russia
Winner: Norway — In perhaps the most consequential game of the March window, Norway put four past Israel on Tuesday. It also trounced Moldova, and announced itself as the challenger to Italy in Group I.
Winner: Bosnia and Herzegovina — A 1-0 win at Romania gave the Bosnians an early leg up in Group H. Austria is still favored to top that quintet, but Bosnia established itself as a contender — perhaps for the top spot, and definitely for a playoff place.
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