European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finished Tuesday with Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland and Austria securing the region’s remaining automatic spots.
Spain was held to a 2-2 home draw at Turkey but took first place in Group E nonetheless and equaled Italy’s 31-match unbeaten streak in competitive matches. Italy’s record came between 2018 and 2021.
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The hosts made their early dominance count in Seville when Dani Olmo scored his 12th international goal, but that was cancelled out by Deniz Gul’s first-half equaliser — the first goal Spain had conceded in Group E.
“We wanted to finish without conceding a goal. A bittersweet taste, but we’re happy to qualify for the World Cup,” said Olmo.
Turkey were the better team at the start of the second period and they had their rewards when Salih Özcan gave them a 2-1 lead as Spain stared down the barrel of a first defeat until Mikel Oyarzabal equalised for the hosts.
The visitors needed to complete the near-impossible task of overturning a 14-goal swing for qualification, but they will have to settle for a play-offs spot despite ending Spain’s winning streak.
Scotland beat 10-man Denmark 4-2 in Group C, with Scott McTominay scoring a superb bicycle kick goal three minutes into the match. Scotland scored a pair of stellar goals in second-half added time — after Denmark had a player sent off — to seal the win at Hampden Park.
The win put Scotland into the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
“We’ve been on a journey. I spoke to them about it pre-match, about how this is the opportunity we’ve waited for. What a night, eh?” Scotland coach Steve Clarke said. “This was the chance, one game. This was like a playoff final. We put everything on the line. There’s always one last step and it’s always the hardest.”
A 1-1 home draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina was enough for Austria in Group H, while Belgium routed Liechtenstein 7-0. Switzerland qualified after a 1-1 draw at Kosovo.
Charles De Ketelaere and Jeremy Doku each scored a pair of goals to help Belgium seal a fourth-straight World Cup despite playing without the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
Second-place in Belgium’s group went to Wales after it routed North Macedonia 7-1 at home with a hat trick by Harry Wilson. A draw would have been enough for North Macedonia as both them and Wales were secured in the playoffs through the Nations League.
The 12 group winners qualified directly, while the runners-up will participate in playoffs along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024-25 Nations League that did not finish first or second in their groups during qualification.
The playoffs will be held March 26 and March 31. The World Cup will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
