The Republic of Ireland will this morning discover their opponents for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
FIFA has introduced some major changes for the the tournament, which has been expanded from the traditional 32 teams to 48.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico have already secured their places in the tournament as the host countries.
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The draw is due to start at 11am Irish time and it will be streamed live on fifa.com.
The 54 eligible UEFA nations will be split into six groups of four teams, and six groups of five teams. Russia remain suspended. Sixteen European countries in total will qualify for the first 48-team finals in 2026 – the 12 qualifying group winners automatically, and then four further teams via play-offs to be played in March 2026.
Sixteen countries will go into those play-offs – the 12 qualifying group runners-up plus the four best-ranked group winners from the Nations League who did not either win their group or finish runner-up in main qualifying. These 16 teams will be drawn into four-team ‘paths’ with the winner of each securing a ticket to the tournament.
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Pot 1
France
Spain
England
Portugal
Netherlands
Belgium
Italy
Germany
Croatia
Switzerland
Denmark
Austria
Pot 2
Ukraine
Sweden
Türkiye
Wales
Hungary
Serbia
Poland
Romania
Greece
Slovakia
Czechia
Norway
Pot 3
Scotland
Slovenia
Republic of Ireland
Albania
North Macedonia
Georgia
Finland
Iceland
Northern Ireland
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel
Pot 4
Bulgaria
Luxembourg
Belarus
Kosovo
Armenia
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Cyprus
Faroe Islands
Latvia
Lithuania
Pot 5
Moldova
Malta
Andorra
Gibraltar
Liechtenstein
San Marino
Good morning and welcome to our live blog for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Ireland are in Pot 3 for the draw, meaning our opponents will come from the remaining pots which are:
Pot 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria
Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czechia and Norway
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia and Lithuania.
Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino
Ireland could be in a four or five-team group. Five-teams group will start in March, four-team groups start in September.
The draw will be shown live on FIFA's website. as well as on the RTÉ Player and the RTÉ News channel.
