European Qualifiers for World Cup: What to look out for on Tuesday

The European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup got under way on Friday 21 March as nations from around the continent began their quest to reach the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

UEFA.com picks out the key storylines and important subplots to look out for in the second set of Matchday 2 fixtures.

Tuesday's Matchday 2 fixtures

Group I: Moldova vs Estonia (18:00), Israel vs Norway
Group J: North Macedonia vs Wales, Liechtenstein vs Kazakhstan
Group L: Gibraltar vs Czechia, Montenegro vs Faroe Islands

All games 20:45 CET unless stated

What to look out for

Wales go for two in a row

After 64 years without qualifying, Wales finally made it to a World Cup finals at Qatar 2022, where they were knocked out in the group stage with one point from their three games.

That experience has left them hungry for more, and Craig Bellamy's side will be hopeful they can be among the 16 UEFA nations booking their flights to North America next year. They got off to a positive start in Group J with a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan, and will be hoping for more of the same against North Macedonia.

Bellamy, who never made it to a major tournament finals as a player for Wales, guided his team through an unbeaten Nations League campaign to win Group B4, and he is full of optimism over the Dragons' chances of securing World Cup qualification again. "I'm really looking forward to this," he said. "I'm excited to work with the group. We're all just looking forward to it. I genuinely feel this is a group we want to go and win."

Elsewhere

• Erling Haaland was back among the goals as Norway cruised to a 5-0 victory over Moldova on Matchday 1 in Group I, and the Manchester City forward will be hoping for more of the same against Israel on Tuesday.
• Czechia have taken part in the last eight EURO final tournaments but you have to go back to 2006 for the last time they graced the World Cup finals. After narrowly beating the Faroe Islands on Matchday 1, Gibraltar are next up as they look to end that streak.

Matchday 2 results

Monday 24 March

Group G: Lithuania 2-2 Finland, Poland 2-0 Malta
Group H: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 Cyprus, San Marino 1-5 Romania
Group K: Albania 3-0 Andorra, England 3-0 Latvia

Matchday 1 results

Friday 21 March

Group G: Malta 0-1 Finland, Poland 1-0 Lithuania
Group H: Cyprus 2-0 San Marino, Romania 0-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group K: England 2-0 Albania, Andorra 0-1 Latvia

Saturday 22 March

Group I: Moldova 0-5 Norway, Israel 2-1 Estonia
Group J: Liechtenstein 0-3 North Macedonia, Wales 3-1 Kazakhstan
Group L: Montenegro 3-1 Gibraltar, Czechia 2-1 Faroe Islands