UEFA has developed a format for the selection of 16 European national teams for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams for the first time.
12 groups of five or four teams will play in the period from March to November 2025 according to the traditional group system. The 12 group winners will receive direct tickets to the final stage. The 12 second-placed teams and the four best group winners of the UEFA Nations League 2024/2025, who finish below second place in the group stage of European qualification, will take part in the butt mini-tournaments.
The butt mini-tournaments will consist of one-match semi-finals and finals and will be held within the same window as the national teams' matches. The 16 participants will be divided into four play-off grids of four in each.
It should be added that this scheme is still formally a draft. It must be approved by FIFA, as the association that hosts the tournament.