2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for UEFA teams. The European section of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in South Korea and Japan, for national teams which are members of the UEFA. Apart from France, who qualified automatically as defending champions, a total of 13.5 slots in the final tournament were available for UEFA teams. The 50 teams were divided into nine groups, five groups of six teams and four groups
2026 FIFA World Cup played in the host country(ies) and to be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup. The existing playoff window of November 2025 has been suggested as a tentative date for the 2026 edition. The FIFA Council went back and forth between 2013 and 2017 on limitations within hosting rotation based on the continental confederations. Originally, it was set that bids to be host would not be allowed from countries belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments. It was temporarily changed to only prohibit countries belonging to the confederation that hosted the previous World Cup from