UEFA is implementing significant changes to both the Nations League and the World Cup qualifying format.
Two-Tier World Cup Qualifying
A two-tier qualification process for the 2030 World Cup will be created by UEFA. This will mean major countries will no longer play minor nations such as San Marino, Gibraltar and Andorra. Critics have long campaigned for qualifying to be changed to remove uncompetitive games like England’s 10-0 win in San Marino during qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
Under the new rules, the top 36 countries – as determined by the 2028 edition of the Nations League – will be drawn into three groups of 12 teams in League 1. The remaining 18 nations will play in a separate tournament. This is considered to create a fairer system where they have a greater chance of results.
Qualification has also been completely revamped to mirror the Champions League format.
Changes to Qualifying Format
For the 2026 World Cup, some countries played six qualifiers but some played eight; now all will play six. Every team in the 12-team group will play six home-or-away matches against six different opponents – two per pot.
It moves qualifying away from the regular format where teams would play all opponents in their group home and away.
The best-ranked teams of each group of League 1 will qualify for the World Cup, with the remaining places allocated via play-offs. UEFA has not confirmed the breakdown of the automatic slots.
The remaining 18, lower-ranked countries – under the current format, effectively all but the group winners in Nations League C and all seven countries in Nations League D – will take part in League 2. Countries in League 2 would still have opportunities to qualify.
Nations League Restructure
UEFA also announced that the Nations League would be restructured from 2028, into three divisions of 18 teams – each with three groups of six teams. Teams will still play six matches, but against five different opponents.
There will be three pots of six teams. For example, a team in pot one would play another team from pot one home and away, plus two teams each from pots two and three home or away.
- Semi-finals will continue
- Finals will continue
- Promotion will continue
- Relegation will continue
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said: “The new formats will improve competitive balance, reduce the number of dead matches, offer a more appealing and dynamic competition to fans, while ensuring a fair qualification chance for all teams and without adding any additional dates in the international calendar.”