2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Schedule, Results and Standings

The French national football team has launched its assault on the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the United States with two victories.

The 2026 World Cup is the highlight of the 2025-2026 football season. Unlike the 2022 edition in Qatar, the calendar returns to its traditional dates with the World Cup being played between June and July. Hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the World Cup will, however, have special times for Europeans, particularly in France (Paris is 6 hours ahead of New York, 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles, 7 hours ahead of Mexico City (Mexico), and 6 hours ahead of Toronto (Canada)). Furthermore, due to the extreme heat forecast, some matches could be played very early in the United States. There is talk of a final even around 9:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m....

Meanwhile, World Cup qualifying has begun across all continents. While the Americas and Africa have been in the running for several months, Europe has only recently begun its campaign, and the members of the Nations League Final Four will not even begin their campaign until September 2026. This is particularly the case for France, which kicked off its qualifiers with two matches against Ukraine and Iceland on September 5 and 9. In the first match against their "toughest" opponent, Ukraine, Les Bleus won in a very solid 2-0 fashion thanks to goals from Mbappé and Olise. Against Iceland at the Parc des Princes, Les Bleus struggled to take the three points. Trailing by 10 men after Tchouaméni's red card, Didier Deschamps' men secured the essentials to take three more crucial points in the race for the World Cup.

The results

Find out all the results of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, with near-real-time updates after the matches have ended.

The qualifying standings

The first round follows a standard format with 12 groups of four or five teams. The winner of each group secures their ticket to the World Cup. The remaining four places will be contested in a 16-team play-off competition (March 26–31, 2026), involving the 12 group runners-up and the four highest-ranked UEFA Nations League group winners.

The calendar

Present in the Final Four of the League of Nations last June, the French team finds itself in a group of four, here is the detailed schedule:

The qualifying groups