2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group I is one of the twelve UEFA groups in the World Cup qualification tournament to decide which teams will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.[1] Group I consists of five teams: Estonia, Israel, Italy, Moldova and Norway. The teams will play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format from March to November 2025. However, as Italy were involved in the Nations League A quarter-finals in March, they did not begin their qualifying campaign until June 2025.
The group winner will qualify directly for the World Cup finals, while the runner-up will advance to the second round (play-offs).
Standings
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 12 | Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 11 Oct | 3–0 | 13 Nov | 9 Sep | |
| 2 | Israel
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | Advance to play-offs | 2–4 | — | 8 Sep | 2–1 | 16 Nov | |
| 3 | Italy
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | 16 Nov | 14 Oct | — | 5 Sep | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Estonia
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 11 Oct | — | 14 Oct | ||
| 5 | Moldova
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | 0–5 | 5 Sep | 13 Nov | 2–3 | — |
Matches
[edit]The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 13 December 2024 following the draw.[2][3][4] Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
| Israel | 2–1 | Estonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
| Moldova | 2–3 | Estonia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
| Israel | 2–4 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
| Estonia | 1–3 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Goalscorers
[edit]There have been 29 goals scored in 8 matches, for an average of 3.62 goals per match (as of 9 June 2025).
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Karl Hein (against Israel)
Discipline
[edit]A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[15]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
- Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions are carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were (or will be) served during the qualifying matches:
| Team | Player | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia |
Kevor Palumets |   vs Moldova (25 March 2025) |
vs Israel (6 June 2025) |
| Rasmus Peetson | vs Israel (22 March 2025) vs Moldova (25 March 2025) |
vs Israel (6 June 2025) | |
| Markus Soomets | vs Israel (22 March 2025) |
vs Moldova (25 March 2025) | |
| Moldova |
Maxim Cojocaru |  vs Estonia (25 March 2025) |
vs Italy (9 June 2025) |
| Ion Nicolaescu | vs Estonia (25 March 2025) vs Italy (9 June 2025) |
vs Israel (5 September 2025) | |
| Vadim Rață | vs Norway (22 March 2025) vs Estonia (25 March 2025) |
vs Italy (9 June 2025) |
Notes
[edit]- ^ CET (UTC+1) for matches until 29 March and from 26 October (matchday 1–2 and 9–10), and CEST (UTC+2) for matches from 30 March to 25 October 2025 (matchday 3–8).
- ^ a b c d Due to the Gaza war, Israel are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[6]
- ^ The Norway v Moldova match, originally scheduled for 8 September 2025, 20:45,[3] was later moved to the following day due to the 2025 Norwegian parliamentary election.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Draw Procedures for the UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ "European Qualifiers for 2026 World Cup: All the fixtures and results". UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ a b "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by matchday" (PDF). UEFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ "European Qualifiers 2024–26 (FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition) – Group stage fixtures by group" (PDF). UEFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Moldova v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ "European Qualifier match between Belgium and Sweden declared abandoned with half-time result confirmed as final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Israel v Estonia" (PDF). UEFA. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Moldova v Estonia" (PDF). UEFA. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Israel v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Estonia v Israel" (PDF). UEFA. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Norway v Italy" (PDF). UEFA. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Estonia v Norway" (PDF). UEFA. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Report Qualifying round – Italy v Moldova" (PDF). UEFA. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ Schjesvold, Fredrik; Monge Hugsted, Christian (29 January 2025). "Vil avverge kaosdag og flytte landskamp" [Avert a day of chaos and move international match]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Oslo. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
External links
[edit]- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – UEFA, FIFA.com
- European Qualifiers, UEFA.com