Written by Yaro Pavlenko

The first international break of the 2025/26 season is upon us and the European Qualifiers will resume as the race for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification hots up!

Spreadex Sports has you covered with the latest odds*, spread betting markets, and everything you need to know ahead of the Home Nations' latest fixtures.

*The below odds/spreads are subject to change

When are the world cup qualifiers?

The latest set of World Cup Qualifiers in Europe will be played over the next week from the 4th September 2025 to the 9th September 2025, before the next set of matches a month later from the 9th October 2025 to the 14th of October 2025.

There will then be another month break before the deciding fixtures played in the week from the 13th of November 2025 to the 18th of November 2025, by which time automatically qualified teams will have been decided, as will those sides who will have to face a play-off for the chance to reach next summer's showpiece.

When do England play football next?

The Three Lions have started their qualifying campaign in perfect fashion so far - at least on paper - with Thomas Tuchel picking up the maximum nine points available, although they have been far from stellar in their performances considering the sub-par opposition they have come up against.

Facing a side ranked 170 places below them in Andorra in their upcoming match on Saturday, 6th September at Villa Park, fans will be expecting a better showing and will undoubtedly be anticipating the chance of a goal-fest, although the reverse fixture only produced a single goal from Harry Kane in a hugely underwhelming 1-0 win.

However, England have faced Andorra on seven occasions in total, winning them all without conceding a goal, and have only once failed to score more than one, with four of those matches seeing at least four goals scored. With the opening Goal Supremacy spread in England's favour at 4.3 - 4.6, would you buy or sell? View all of the match markets here.

After the match with Andorra, England will next face an away trip to Serbia on the 9th September. Will Tuchel's side head out of the international break with six points from six?

When do wales play football next?

Wales kick off the action on Thursday afternoon with a long trip to face Kazakhstan in Astana, and the Dragons will look to build on a fairly promising start to their campaign after a draw against current group leaders North Macedonia, home wins against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein, and a narrow 4-3 away defeat to Belgium.

However, they will need to ensure they aim to earn maximum points from here on, with Belgium the clear group favourites and still having two games in hand. For the Dragons' trip East, they are favoured to get the win at odds of 3/5, with several Price Boosts available, including Wales to win 3-1 - NOW 16/1, and Wales to win from Behind - NOW 11/1!

View all of our latest odds and spread betting prices for the Wales fixture here.

Wales' next fixture after their long trip to Astana will be a home friendly next Tuesday against Canada.

When do scotland play football next?

In a delayed start to their group phrase in relation to other teams, Scotland kick-off their four-team group with a tricky away trip to Copenhagen to take on group favourites Denmark, and this may prove to be a deciding fixture in the final-run in, elevating the importance of a victory for both sides.

Interestingly, the Scots and the Danes faced each other in the qualifying stages of the last World Cup, and their meetings saw both sides grab 2-0 victories at their respective home grounds. However, Scotland have actually had the better of the H2H between these sides with three wins in the last five, with Denmark grabbing two wins.

In terms of the odds ahead of this one, the home side are favoured with a fixed odds price of 6/11, with Scotland at 5/1. The draw is 29/10, while the Supremacy spread stands at Denmark/Scotland 0.95 - 1.15. In terms of Price Boosts, Kasper Dolberg to Score Anytime is NOW 6/4, while Kenny McLean to be Carded Anytime is NOW 11/5!

View all of our available markets here.

Scotland's next fixture after Denmark will see them take on Belarus next Monday.

When do northern ireland play football next?

Finally, Northern Ireland will also kick-off their condensed four-team group with an away trip to Luxembourg, but qualification looks to be an uphill battle with Germany the overwhelming group favourite, as well as the challenge of Slovakia.

It is therefore imperative for the Ulstermen to start their campaign with victory at the Stade de Luxembourg on Thursday evening, although the last meeting here in the Nations League last November saw the home side wipe out a 2-0 Northern Irish lead to secure a 2-2 draw. Any similar lost points here may well shatter Irish hopes for qualification from the very beginning.

In terms of the match odds, Northern Ireland will be slight favourites at 5/4, with the draw at 15/8 and Luxembourg at 14/5. The odds for another 2-2 draw stand at 18/1, while our PRICE BOOSTS include Northern Ireland to Win 2-0 - NOW 10/1, and Dion Charles to Score Anytime - NOW 23/10! View all of our latest odds for the match here.

Northern Ireland's next fixture will see them take on Germany on Sunday in a crunch match.

How many teams qualify for the world cup?

The 2026 tournament will see an expanded tournament of 48 teams competing for the famous gold trophy, significantly increased from the traditional 32-team format.

Where to watch the world cup qualifiers?

You will be able to watch England qualifiers live on ITV1 in the UK, while the BBC will be airing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland matches via their regional variants of BBC1 and BBC2.

How many teams from europe qualify for the world cup?

The 12 group winners will see direct qualification following the end of the group stage qualifying fixtures, with 4 more sides securing their place in the final tournament following a play-off round. The play-offs will consist of the 12 group runner-ups along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that did not finish in the top two of their Qualifying group.

All odds correct at time of publishing

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