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UEFA World Cup qualifying: Format, pots, dates, how the draw works

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Summary
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77% Informative

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw will take place on Friday, Dec. 13 .

The draw will be held in the United States , Mexico and Canada .

UEFA Nations League QF winners must be in a group of four and have the international dates free in March and June .

The 12 teams in Pot 1 are the top 12 teams by FIFA World Ranking .

From Pots 2 , 3 and 4 there are 14 countries in the POs in March .

UEFA Nations League teams qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup .

The 12 group winners go direct to the World Cup , the 12 runners-up will go into the playoffs.

The four playoff finals will be played in March 2026 , with teams seeded on performance for one -legged ties.

The higher-ranked teams will be at home in the semifinals.

VR Score

88

Informative language

92

Neutral language

84

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

20

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

medium-lived

External references

no external sources

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no sources

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