European Qualifiers for World Cup: What to look out for on Matchdays 1 and 2

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

UEFA.com picks out the key storylines and important subplots ahead of the opening two rounds of fixtures.

Matchday 1 fixtures

Friday 21 March

Group G: Malta vs Finland, Poland vs Lithuania
Group H: Cyprus vs San Marino (18:00), Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group K: England vs Albania, Andorra vs Latvia

Saturday 22 March

Group I: Moldova vs Norway (18:00), Israel vs Estonia
Group J: Liechtenstein vs North Macedonia (15:00), Wales vs Kazakhstan
Group L: Montenegro vs Gibraltar (18:00), Czechia vs Faroe Islands

Matchday 2 fixtures

Monday 24 March

Group G: Lithuania vs Finland (18:00), Poland vs Malta
Group H: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Cyprus, San Marino vs Romania
Group K: Albania vs Andorra, England vs Latvia 

Tuesday 25 March 

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

Thomas Tuchel's England reign begins

Over five months after his appointment was announced, Thomas Tuchel will finally take charge of his first two games as England coach when the Three Lions host Albania and Latvia at Wembley Stadium in Group K.

Given their recent near misses with defeats in the EURO 2020 and EURO 2024 finals, along with the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, the expectation is that England will again be among the favourites to go all the way next summer, and Tuchel will be hoping for a positive start to his reign so that belief can begin to grow.

It will be intriguing to see how the German tactician sets up his first teams, and he certainly has a wealth of options to pick from among an extremely exciting pool of English talent.

Wales go for two in a row

After going 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 no doubt 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.

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 confidence ahead of the Dragons' opening two qualifying games against Kazakhstan and North Macedonia.

"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."

Robert Lewandowski's last hurrah?

At 36 years of age, there is a strong chance 2026 will be iconic striker Robert Lewandowski's last World Cup if his Poland side can make it there. With a total of 84 goals in 156 appearances for his country, the Barcelona forward will, as ever, be hungry to add to that tally when his team host Lithuania and Malta in Group G.

"One day, maybe I'll wake up and think maybe it's time to think about retiring from international duty," Lewandowski said after Poland's disappointing EURO 2024 campaign. "But today I feel and I see that this team has a future, that despite this European Championship we have built something here. I see the potential in this team. I see a lot of young players emerging."

Elsewhere

• Erling Haaland will look to get back among the goals when Norway take on Moldova and Israel in Group I.
• San Marino made history recently by getting their two first competitive wins ever in Nations League Group D1, and they'll hope to spring an upset against Cyprus and Romania in Group H.