When do Italy begin qualification for 2026 World Cup: Dates, format, schedule | OneFootball

Italy are due to begin the qualification process for the 2026 World Cup in North America with two fixtures scheduled between March 21 and March 25, 2025.

The Azzurri currently have three international breaks scheduled for the remaining part of 2024, all of which are reserved for Nations League fixtures against France, Israel and Belgium.

Luciano Spalletti and the team’s journey to the next major tournament will begin in the new year, in a newly-formatted qualification process.

2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Schedule and format

The 2026 World Cup finals format will also change for 2026, as the competition is set to feature 48 teams moving forwards, instead of the recent 32-team set-up.

That means that there will be more slots available for teams in every continent, including in Europe. UEFA are now set to receive 16 places at the final tournament, rising from 13 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

UEFA qualification for the World Cup will consist of 12 groups of either four or five nations. They will all play each other home and away over the course of the 2025 calendar year. The 12 eventual group winners will receive automatic qualification to the final tournament.

The runners-up from those groups will advance to the play-off system, along with the four best-ranked group winners from the Nations League who finished outside the top two in their World Cup qualifying groups. Those 16 sides will eventually be whittled down to four in a knock-out style arrangement at the end of March, 2026.

The draw for World Cup qualification is currently due to take place after the group phase of the Nations League comes to a close, so that could take place in November or December of this year.