"European football's focus switches to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup for the next two weeks, but that is only the beginning of an 11-week period in which six games each will be played to help decide who advances to the tournament."
"The European qualifying programme involves 54 teams but 24 of them are only kicking a ball for the first time on their intended road to play on football's biggest stage in the United States, Canada and Mexico starting next year on June 11."
"France, the 2018 World Cup winner, starts its qualifying campaign for the 2026 edition away against Ukraine in Les Bleus' first game in the competition since losing an epic final against Argentina in December 2022 at the Qatar World Cup."
European qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup involves 54 teams and begins with an 11-week period during which each team plays six matches to decide advancement. Twenty-four teams, including France and 23 others, join the qualifying programme now because top seeds' progress in the 2025 Nations League delayed their entry. France, the 2018 World Cup winner, opens away against Ukraine at Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw on Friday, September 5, at 20:45 local (19:45 GMT). Ukraine will host the match in neutral Poland due to security concerns at home during the Russian invasion. Russia remains banned from UEFA and FIFA competitions since February 2022.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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