Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg in case we win the Nations League quarters; Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova in case we lose to Germany in March. These are the two potential paths for the Azzurri on the road to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup which will be held in Canada, Mexico and the USA. This will be the first tournament with 48 sides, with the number of spots for European teams expanding from 13 to 16. The draw was held in Zurich: 54 balls were drawn on stage by World Cup champion Gianluca Zambrotta amongst others.

Luciano Spalletti was in Zurich for the draw: “An Italy side that beats Germany will surely be stronger than one that was set to lose. Putting in good performances and getting results become fundamental to growth. We don’t rely on maths, we always play to win: the sport must be honoured for its most rigorous principles. I repeat that we will have to be up to the task handed to us and our history”.

The winner of the quarter-final fixtures between Italy and Germany. with the first leg scheduled for Thursday 20 March at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan and the second leg on Sunday 23 March in Dortmund, will join Group A for the World Cup qualifiers. The Group A opponents are Slovakia (coached by Italian ex-Napoli Francesco Calzona, who also worked with Spalletti), Northern Ireland and Luxembourg and the first game will be held in September (the Nations League finals will take place in June). The defeated side between the Azzurri and the Germans, on the other hand, will join Group I - one of the six groups with five sides - alongside Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. The first qualifying games will be held in June 2025 for the competition in which Italy has not taken part since 2014.

FORMAT. The 12 group winners qualify directly for the World Cup whilst the four remaining berths are determined by play-offs involving the 12 group runners-up along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that did not finish their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 - UEFA QUALIFIERS
Group A: WINNER GERMANY/ITALY, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo
Group C: Loser Portugal/Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Belarus
Group D: Winner France/Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan
Group E: Winner Spain/Netherlands, Türkiye, Georgia, Bulgaria
Group F: Winner Portugal/Denmark, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group G: Loser Spain/Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino
Group I: LOSER GERMANY/ITALY, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova
Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Lichtenstein
Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra
Group L: Loser France/Croatia, Czechia, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar