Football: everything you need to know about the World Cup qualifying draw

The Swiss team is a chameleon. At the Euro, she delighted a whole people by producing a remarkable performance in the round of 16 against Italy, before falling on penalties against England. But confirmation never came. At least, not this fall, when Murat Yakin’s protégés were unrecognizable after the retirements of Xherdan Shaqiri, Yann Sommer and Fabian Schär. The result? A sad relegation to the League of Nations.

But the essential is elsewhere, the purists will say. If Nations League matches are often described as friendly, serious things will (re)start next spring with qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The draw for the qualifying groups will take place on Friday from 12 p.m. in Zurich. It will be broadcast live on the RTS website as well as that of FIFA.

Big change compared to the last editions: no longer 32, but 48 teams will compete in the final phase in 2026. Which, obviously, greatly increases the chances of participation. A failure in qualifying would be particularly bitter for the Nati with this expanded formula.

Sixteen places are reserved for Europe. The teams from the continent will be divided into 12 qualifying groups. Six groups will have 4 teams, six others will have 5, but given its results in the Nations League, Switzerland has a better chance of appearing in a group of 5.

Each group winner will directly qualify for the final phase. The 12 runners-up, in addition to 4 teams designated according to results in the Nations League, will compete in play-offs for the four remaining places. The qualifying phase will begin next March for some teams, in June for others, and will end in November. The dams will follow in March 2026.

Will the Nati be lucky this Friday the 13th? Good news, from the outset: it belongs to the first hat, which will prevent it from crossing paths with the biggest European nations. Whatever the opponents proposed, the Helvetii will absolutely have to aim for first place in their group to avoid going through the play-off box.

There are still certain teams that the Swiss will prefer to avoid. Because the second hat is, obviously, not devoid of quality. There are nations like Ukraine, Sweden, Hungary and Erling Haaland’s Norway. Without forgetting Serbia, which the Swiss will happily do without seeing again given the rivalry between the two nations and the numerous antecedents.

In the third hat, beware of Scotland, who forced Murat Yakin’s team to a draw during the Euro, as well as Georgia of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

A few hours before the draw, we imagined what the Swiss group could look like, knowing that hats 4 and 5 only offer teams, on paper, very affordable.

In our eyes, the toughest draw would see the Nati face Norway, Georgia, Latvia and Moldova. Opponents who remain within reach of the Swiss.

Now let’s imagine an extremely affordable print. Murat Yakin’s protégés would meet Greece, Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and San Marino (or Liechtenstein… or Gibraltar).

Finally, a group that would have the national team traveling quite a bit would include Turkey, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Moldova.

Hat 1: Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, SuisseAustria.

Hat 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czechia, Norway.

Hat 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia, Israel.

Hat 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania.

Hat 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino.