World Cup 2026 qualifying draw: Who will England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face?

The European qualifying draw for the next men's football World Cup has taken place, meaning we now know which teams the home nations need to beat in order to qualify for the tournament.

The expanded 48-team competition will be held in three countries - the United States, Canada and Mexico - during the summer of 2026.

Qualifying will begin from March next year and a total of 16 European teams will be heading to North America to compete in the Fifa tournament.

But who will England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland be up against? Keep reading to find out.

Which qualifying groups are the home nations in?

The draw took place at Fifa's headquarters in the Swiss city of Zurich

England are in Group K and have been drawn against Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in qualification.

Wales will play Belgium, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein in their Group J matches.

Scotland are in a four-team group C and will be up against Greece, Belarus and the loser of the Portugal v Denmark Nations League quarter-final.

Northern Ireland are in Group A, which is also a four-team group, and will face Slovakia, Luxembourg and the winner of the Germany v Italy Nations League match.

How will qualifying work?

Lionel Messi's Argentina are the defending World Cup champions

There are 12 World Cup European qualifying groups - six have four teams and the other six have five teams.

Teams will play each other home and away as usual.

Qualifying will begin in March and June for the five-team groups.

The four-team groups, will begin theirs a few months later, in September.

A total of 16 European teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The top team from each of the 12 groups will go through automatically.

The runners-up will go into the play-offs with four Nations League teams.

The play-offs will take place at the end of March 2026 and four play-off teams will qualify for the tournament.

When and where will the 2026 World Cup take place?

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The tournament will start on 11 June in Mexico City and end on 19 July in New Jersey.

It is being expanded to include 48 teams for the first time in its history, and as a result it will last a record 39 days.

The new format will also feature 12 four-team groups and a last-32 knockout round.