The occupied peninsula was not marked as part of Ukraine on the map shown.
The International Football Federation (FIFA) was embarrassed during the draw for the group stage of the European qualification 2026 World Cup, showing a map of Ukraine without Crimea in the broadcast.
Before the start of the draw procedure, FIFA decided to remind the rules for the qualifying tournament and showed a map of Europe during the explanation that a number of teams would be divided into different groups.
On the map shown, the Crimean peninsula occupied by the Russians was not marked as part of Ukraine.
During the draw, the Ukrainian team was divided into different groups with the Belarus team. The Russian team was not allowed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The team of the aggressor country continues to be suspended from international competitions due to the full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian national team got into Group D, where it will play with the winner of the quarterfinals of the Croatia – France League of Nations, Iceland and Azerbaijan.
16 European teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. 12 group winners will directly qualify for the final stage of the World Cup. Another four tickets to the planetary championship will be played for in the playoffs, where 12 runners-up of the World Cup qualifying groups and the four best group winners of the 2024/25 Nations League who finish lower than second place in the group stage of qualification will compete.
The group round of the European qualification for the 2026 World Cup will last from March to November 2025. The playoffs will take place in March 2026 and will consist of single-match semi-finals and finals.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in three countries at once – the United States, Canada and Mexico. This will be the first World Cup in which 48 teams will participate. From 1998 to 2022, the World Cup used a 32-team format.
