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World Cup draw: European qualifiers, kontris know dia opponents – BBC News Pidgin
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England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland don know dia 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents afta Fifa do di draw on Friday 13 December for Zurich.
England, under dia new manager Thomas Tuchel, go face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
Wales go meet familiar foes Belgium, plus North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein.
Scotland go play Greece, Belarus and di loser of di Portugal v Denmark Nations League quarter-final.
Northern Ireland dey up against Slovakia, Luxembourg and di winner of di Germany v Italy Nations League game.
Dem go play di games across five international breaks between March and November 2025.
Di top team from each of di 12 groups go qualify automatically for di World Cup, wey go hold for US, Canada and Mexico – di second-placed teams go enta play-offs. A total of 16 European teams go qualify.
Scotland and Northern Ireland dem draw dem for four-team groups, dem no go start dia games until September.
Di full world cup qualifying draw
Some of di groups na March dem go finalise am afta di quarter-finals of di Nations League.
Group A: Germany/Italy (winner), Slovakia, NORTHERN IRELAND, Luxembourg.
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo.
Group C: Portugal/Denmark (loser), Greece, SCOTLAND, Belarus.
Group D: France/Croatia (winner), Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan.
Group E: Spain/Netherlands (winner), Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria.
Group F: Portugal/Denmark (winner), Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia.
Group G: Spain/Netherlands (loser), Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta.
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino.
Group I: Germany/Italy (loser), Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova.
Group J: Belgium, WALES, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Group K: ENGLAND, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra.
Group L: France/Croatia (loser), Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar.
How di World Cup qualifiers go work?
Six of di groups get four teams and six get five teams.
Teams go play each oda home and away as usual.
Di top team from each group go qualify automatically for di World Cup, di runners-up go enta play-offs wit four Nations League teams.
Dose 16 play-off teams dem go put dem for pots based on dia records for di group and draw dem into four paths dem go play one-leg semi-finals and finals.
Wen be di games?
Di games go hold ova 10 matchdays during five international breaks.
Dose international breaks na 21-25 March, 6-10 June, 4-9 September, 9-14 October and 13-18 November.
But no team go play World Cup qualifiers on all of dose dates becos na maximum of eight games. Dem fit play friendlies on any free dates.
Some teams go start for March, odas go start for June and di four-team groups no go start until September.
Scotland and di Republic of Ireland, for example, go dey play Nations League promotion-relegation play-offs instead for March.
Teams wey win di Nations League quarter-finals no go dey in action for World Cup qualifiers until September.
Di play-offs go be on 26-31 March 2026.
Wen and wia dem dey play di World Cup?
Di World Cup go start on 11 June 2026 for Mexico City and end on 19 July for New Jersey.
Di expanded 48-team tournament go last a record 39 days.
Di new format go feature 12 four-team groups and a last-32 knockout round for di first time.
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