Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium faced delays in securing their places at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite strong performances from Spain and Switzerland. These three European football powerhouses were hoping to confirm their spots but encountered obstacles in their recent qualifying matches.
Spain came close to mathematically booking their place in the World Cup after a convincing 4-0 victory against Georgia. Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice, helping Spain maintain their perfect qualification record. However, Turkey's 2-0 win over Bulgaria delayed Spain's celebrations. Spain have been dominant in their qualifying campaign, scoring 19 goals and conceding none in their five matches. They have also set a national record of 30 matches unbeaten. Only a highly improbable seven-goal victory for Turkey against Spain in their next match could deny La Roja automatic qualification.
Switzerland also came close to securing their spot after thrashing Sweden 4-1. Granit Xhaka's penalty helped restore Switzerland's lead, and further goals from Dan Ndoye and Johan Manzambi secured the win. However, Kosovo's 2-0 victory over Slovenia prolonged the suspense in Group B. Switzerland is currently three points ahead of Kosovo in Group I with a significantly better goal difference. Switzerland's qualification is all but certain unless they suffer an unexpected defeat by a large margin in their match against Kosovo.
Belgium's qualification was also put on hold after being held to a 1-1 draw by Kazakhstan. Hans Vanaken scored to level the score after Dastan Satpayev gave Kazakhstan an early lead. Despite the draw, Belgium remains on course to qualify at the top of Group J.
Other notable results in the World Cup Qualifiers include Austria's 2-0 win over Cyprus, bringing them closer to their first World Cup qualification since 1998. Bosnia-Herzegovina beat 10-man Romania 3-1. Denmark was held to a 2-2 draw by Belarus, while Scotland suffered a 3-2 defeat in Greece. Wales kept their hopes alive with a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein.
With the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams in 2026, UEFA has been allocated 16 direct spots. The European format involves 12 groups, with the winner of each group qualifying automatically. The 12 second-place finishers will compete in a playoff system for the remaining four spots. As of November 13, 2025, only England, France, and Croatia had secured their places from Europe.
