The 2025 World Cup qualifiers for the UEFA zone will determine which teams from Europe will qualify for the 2025 FIFA World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. A total of 13 teams from UEFA will qualify for the tournament, including the host nation, Germany.
The qualifying process will begin in March 2025 and will conclude in November 2025. The teams will be divided into 10 groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the next round. The 10 group winners will then be joined by the 10 runners-up in a play-off tournament, with the six winners of those play-offs qualifying for the World Cup.
The 2025 World Cup qualifiers will be the first to use a new format, which was approved by UEFA in September 2020. The new format is designed to make the qualifying process more competitive and to give more teams a chance to qualify for the World Cup.
2025 World Cup Qualifiers Europe
The 2025 World Cup qualifiers for the UEFA zone will be a competitive and exciting affair, with 53 teams vying for 13 places at the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
- 53 teams competing
- 13 teams qualify
- 10 groups of 5 teams
- Top 2 from each group advance
- 10 group winners and 10 runners-up to play-offs
- 6 play-off winners qualify
- New format introduced
- More teams have a chance to qualify
The qualifying process will begin in March 2025 and will conclude in November 2025. The draw for the group stage will be held in December 2022.
53 teams competing
A total of 53 teams from UEFA will compete for 13 places at the 2025 World Cup. This is the largest number of teams to compete in the UEFA qualifiers since the 1998 World Cup.
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All UEFA member nations eligible
All 55 UEFA member nations are eligible to compete in the qualifiers, with the exception of Russia, which has been suspended from international football by FIFA and UEFA.
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Germany qualifies automatically
As the host nation, Germany qualifies automatically for the World Cup and will not participate in the qualifiers.
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52 teams in group stage
The remaining 52 teams will be divided into 10 groups of five teams. The teams will play each other home and away, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the next round.
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10 group winners and 10 runners-up to play-offs
The 10 group winners and 10 runners-up will then advance to a play-off tournament, with the six winners of those play-offs qualifying for the World Cup.
The qualifying process will be competitive, with many strong teams vying for a place at the World Cup. The draw for the group stage will be held in December 2022.
13 teams qualify
A total of 13 teams from UEFA will qualify for the 2025 World Cup. This includes the host nation, Germany, which qualifies automatically. The remaining 12 teams will qualify through the qualifying process, which will begin in March 2025 and conclude in November 2025.
The 52 teams that are not automatically qualified for the World Cup will be divided into 10 groups of five teams. The teams will play each other home and away, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the next round.
The 10 group winners and 10 runners-up will then advance to a play-off tournament, with the six winners of those play-offs qualifying for the World Cup. The play-offs will be played in March 2025.
The 13 teams that qualify for the World Cup from UEFA will join the 16 teams from other confederations to make up the 32-team field for the tournament.
The qualifying process for the 2025 World Cup will be competitive, with many strong teams vying for a place at the tournament. The draw for the group stage will be held in December 2022.
10 groups of 5 teams
The 52 teams that are not automatically qualified for the 2025 World Cup will be divided into 10 groups of five teams. The teams will be seeded based on their FIFA World Ranking, with the top-seeded team in each group being placed in Pot 1, the second-seeded team in Pot 2, and so on.
The teams in each group will play each other home and away, with the matches being played on FIFA match days in March, June, September, October, and November 2025. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.
The draw for the group stage will be held in December 2022. The following are the pots for the draw:
- Pot 1: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain
- Pot 2: Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine
- Pot 3: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden
- Pot 4: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Malta
- Pot 5: Andorra, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, San Marino, Scotland, Wales
The group stage matches will be played on the following dates:
- March 23-28, 2025
- June 12-19, 2025
- September 11-14, 2025
- October 12-17, 2025
- November 16-21, 2025
The top two teams from each group will advance to the play-offs, which will be played in March 2025.
Top 2 from each group advance
The top two teams from each of the 10 groups will advance to the next round of the 2025 World Cup qualifiers.
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Automatic qualification
The top two teams from each group will qualify automatically for the play-offs.
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No third-place finishers advance
Unlike in previous qualifying campaigns, the third-place finishers in each group will not advance to the play-offs.
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Based on points
The teams will be ranked in each group based on their total number of points. If two or more teams are tied on points, the following tiebreakers will be used to determine theๆๅ:
- Goal difference
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head record
- Fair play conduct
- UEFA coefficient ranking
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Draw for play-offs
The 10 group winners and 10 runners-up will be drawn into a play-off tournament, with the six winners of those play-offs qualifying for the World Cup.
The play-offs will be played in March 2025.
10 group winners and 10 runners-up to play-offs
The 10 group winners and 10 runners-up from the group stage of the 2025 World Cup qualifiers will advance to the play-offs. The play-offs will be a single-elimination tournament, with the six winners qualifying for the World Cup.
The play-off draw will be held in November 2025, after the conclusion of the group stage. The 20 teams will be seeded based on their FIFA World Ranking, with the top-seeded team being placed in Pot 1, the second-seeded team in Pot 2, and so on.
The teams in each pot will be drawn into two paths, with one path containing five teams and the other path containing six teams. The teams in each path will play single-elimination matches, with the winners advancing to the next round.
The play-offs will be played in March 2025, with the exact dates and venues to be determined by UEFA.
The six winners of the play-offs will join the 10 group winners and Germany, the host nation, at the 2025 World Cup.
6 play-off winners qualify
The six winners of the play-offs will qualify for the 2025 World Cup.
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Automatic qualification
The six winners of the play-offs will qualify automatically for the World Cup.
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No third-place finishers advance
Unlike in previous qualifying campaigns, the third-place finishers in the play-offs will not advance to the World Cup.
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Based on results
The six winners of the play-offs will be the teams that win their respective matches in the single-elimination tournament.
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Join group winners and host nation
The six winners of the play-offs will join the 10 group winners and Germany, the host nation, at the 2025 World Cup.
The play-offs will be played in March 2025, with the exact dates and venues to be determined by UEFA.
New format introduced
The 2025 World Cup qualifiers will use a new format, which was approved by UEFA in September 2020.
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More teams qualify
The new format will allow more teams to qualify for the World Cup. A total of 13 teams from UEFA will qualify for the 2025 World Cup, compared to 10 teams in previous qualifying campaigns.
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No more third-place finishers
In previous qualifying campaigns, the third-place finishers in the group stage advanced to the play-offs. However, under the new format, only the top two teams from each group will advance to the play-offs.
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Single-elimination play-offs
The play-offs will be a single-elimination tournament, with the six winners qualifying for the World Cup. In previous qualifying campaigns, the play-offs were a two-legged affair, with the away goals rule in effect.
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Draw for play-offs
The draw for the play-offs will be held after the conclusion of the group stage. The 20 teams will be seeded based on their FIFA World Ranking, with the top-seeded team being placed in Pot 1, the second-seeded team in Pot 2, and so on.
The new format is designed to make the qualifying process more competitive and to give more teams a chance to qualify for the World Cup.
More teams have a chance to qualify
The new format for the 2025 World Cup qualifiers is designed to give more teams a chance to qualify for the tournament. Under the previous format, only 10 teams from UEFA qualified for the World Cup. However, under the new format, 13 teams from UEFA will qualify.
This is a significant increase, and it means that more teams will have a chance to compete for a place at the World Cup. In particular, teams from smaller countries will have a better chance of qualifying, as they will no longer have to compete with the top teams in the group stage for a play-off place.
The new format is also more fair, as it gives all teams an equal chance to qualify for the World Cup. In the previous format, the third-place finishers in the group stage were at a disadvantage, as they had to play a two-legged play-off against a team that had finished second in their group.
Under the new format, all teams will have to win their play-off matches in order to qualify for the World Cup. This will create a more competitive and exciting qualifying process, and it will give more teams a chance to dream of playing at the World Cup.
The 2025 World Cup qualifiers will be the first to use the new format, and it will be interesting to see which teams are able to take advantage of the opportunity to qualify for the tournament.
FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about the 2025 World Cup qualifiers for the UEFA zone:
Question 1: How many teams from UEFA will qualify for the 2025 World Cup?
Answer: 13 teams from UEFA will qualify for the 2025 World Cup, including the host nation, Germany.
Question 2: What is the format of the qualifying process?
Answer: The 52 teams that are not automatically qualified for the World Cup will be divided into 10 groups of five teams. The teams will play each other home and away, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the play-offs. The 10 group winners and 10 runners-up will then advance to a play-off tournament, with the six winners of those play-offs qualifying for the World Cup.
Question 3: When will the qualifying matches be played?
Answer: The group stage matches will be played on the following dates:
- March 23-28, 2025
- June 12-19, 2025
- September 11-14, 2025
- October 12-17, 2025
- November 16-21, 2025
The play-offs will be played in March 2025.
Question 4: How will the play-offs work?
Answer: The 20 teams that advance to the play-offs will be seeded based on their FIFA World Ranking. The teams will be drawn into two paths, with one path containing five teams and the other path containing six teams. The teams in each path will play single-elimination matches, with the winners advancing to the next round. The six winners of the play-offs will qualify for the World Cup.
Question 5: What are the new features of the qualifying format?
Answer: The new format for the 2025 World Cup qualifiers includes the following features:
- More teams qualify: 13 teams from UEFA will qualify for the World Cup, compared to 10 teams in previous qualifying campaigns.
- No more third-place finishers: Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the play-offs.
- Single-elimination play-offs: The play-offs will be a single-elimination tournament, with the six winners qualifying for the World Cup.
- Draw for play-offs: The draw for the play-offs will be held after the conclusion of the group stage.
Question 6: Why has the qualifying format been changed?
Answer: The qualifying format has been changed in order to make the process more competitive and to give more teams a chance to qualify for the World Cup.
In addition to the FAQ, here are some tips for following the 2025 World Cup qualifiers:
Tips
Here are some tips for following the 2025 World Cup qualifiers for the UEFA zone:
Tip 1: Check the schedule and results
The UEFA website has a comprehensive schedule and results page for the 2025 World Cup qualifiers. You can use this page to find out when and where matches are being played, and to check the results of matches that have already been played.
Tip 2: Follow the teams on social media
Many of the teams that are competing in the 2025 World Cup qualifiers have active social media accounts. You can follow these accounts to get the latest news and updates on the teams, including match reports, player interviews, and behind-the-scenes content.
Tip 3: Watch the matches live or on demand
There are a number of ways to watch the 2025 World Cup qualifiers live or on demand. Many of the matches will be broadcast on television, and you can also stream the matches online through UEFA’s website or app.
Tip 4: Get involved in the conversation
There are a number of online forums and social media groups where you can discuss the 2025 World Cup qualifiers with other fans. This is a great way to share your thoughts on the matches, and to get the latest news and updates on the teams.
By following these tips, you can stay up-to-date on the 2025 World Cup qualifiers and enjoy all the excitement of the qualifying process.
Conclusion
The 2025 World Cup qualifiers for the UEFA zone will be a competitive and exciting affair, with 53 teams vying for 13 places at the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The qualifying process will begin in March 2025 and will conclude in November 2025. The teams will be divided into 10 groups of five teams, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the play-offs. The 10 group winners and 10 runners-up will then advance to a play-off tournament, with the six winners of those play-offs qualifying for the World Cup.
The new format for the qualifying process is designed to make it more competitive and to give more teams a chance to qualify for the World Cup. Under the previous format, only 10 teams from UEFA qualified for the World Cup. However, under the new format, 13 teams from UEFA will qualify.
This is a significant increase, and it means that more teams will have a chance to compete for a place at the World Cup. In particular, teams from smaller countries will have a better chance of qualifying, as they will no longer have to compete with the top teams in the group stage for a play-off place.
The 2025 World Cup qualifiers will be the first to use the new format, and it will be interesting to see which teams are able to take advantage of the opportunity to qualify for the tournament.
We hope this article has been helpful in providing you with an overview of the 2025 World Cup qualifiers for the UEFA zone. We encourage you to follow the qualifying process and to cheer on your favorite teams. We wish all the teams the best of luck in their quest to qualify for the World Cup.