Northern Ireland discover 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents with headline clash against former champions Germany or Italy

After winning their UEFA Nations League group following an impressive campaign, Michael O’Neill’s side will now turn their attention to trying to reach the country’s first World Cup since 1986 with the 2026 tournament being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Seeded in Pot Three, Northern Ireland are set to face off against the winner of a Nations League quarter-final between Germany and Italy, Slovakia and Luxembourg.

Northern Ireland last took on Germany during Euro 2020 qualifying, losing out 2-0 in Belfast before losing 6-1 on the road after Michael Smith had handed the visitors a shock lead while they’ve also recently been pitted against Italy in qualifying for a major competition, losing once and drawing once against the 2006 champions in 2021.

Slovakia ended Northern Ireland’s hopes of reaching Euro 2020 after Michal Duriš scored in extra-time to secure a 2-1 win at Windsor Park.

O’Neill’s side will be confident of yet more success against Luxembourg having defeated them 2-0 on route to topping their Nations League group.

Even before the draw, Northern Ireland had set themselves up in a more beneficial position to reach the World Cup due to their Nations League success.

With UEFA gaining three further entrants due to the upcoming competition expanding to 48 teams, the 12 World Cup qualifying group runners-up and the four best-ranked Nations League group winners who haven’t yet qualified will be drawn into four play-off paths of single-leg semi-finals and single-leg finals.

Therefore, should results fall in their favour, Northern Ireland could find themselves progressing into a play-off, but they’ll want to eliminate any drama and qualify directly through the group.

Reflecting on the Nations League campaign ahead of the World Cup, O’Neill said: “If you look at the team (in Luxembourg), we had two 19-year-olds playing and I would imagine the average age was close to 22.

“There’s a lot of lads out there who are going to play a lot of international football and they’re doing extremely well in international football at this moment in time.

“There’s a huge amount for us to be positive about when we look back at this group, and the number of young players who have become very important players in our squad.

“I think the biggest thing is the style of play of the team, the patience and the build-up, and then the speed of the team in the attacking areas…I think we’re starting to look like a team that has a real identity, a style of play and we’ve just got to continue to improve on that and build on that.”

The dates for World Cup qualifiers – Northern Ireland are in a four-team group so will get underway in September – are currently set for:

Matchday One: March 21/22

Matchday Two: March 24/25

Matchday Three: June 6/7

Matchday Four: June 9/10

Matchday Five: September 4/5/6

Matchday Six: September 7/8/9

Matchday Seven: October 9/10/11

Matchday Eight: October 12/13/14

Matchday Nine: November 13/14/15

Matchday Ten: November 16/17/18

If Northern Ireland progress into the play-offs, the semi-finals are due to be played on March 26, 2026 and the final on March 31, 2026.