Final European qualifiers for U-17 World Cup confirmed

The final eight European qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™ have been confirmed. Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, Romania and Serbia have all booked their tickets to the 48-team global showpiece.

They will join fellow UEFA nations Belgium, Montenegro and Spain in Qatar, with that trio having already secured their places at the tournament.

The teams clinched their spots by finishing as one of the group winners or the four best runners-up in qualifying for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Notable absentees at this year’s U-17 World Cup will include 2025 champions Portugal and 2023 winners Germany, who finished fourth and third respectively in their groups.

Belgium, France and Italy were the only sides to win all three of their matches. The other section winners were Croatia, Denmark, Spain and surprise package Montenegro, who will make their U-17 World Cup debut.

The best runners-up also include three first-time qualifiers in Greece, Romania and Serbia, as well as the Republic of Ireland.

FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026 qualified teams (23/48)

Host nation: Qatar
Concacaf: Costa Rica, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, USA
OFC: Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand
UEFA: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Spain