What will happen to the UEFA lottery results?
There are 12 qualifying groups (6 groups of 5 teams, 6 groups of 4 teams), teams play against each other home and away, and only group winners automatically pass through. The runners-up (and the four teams with the best results in the Nations League) will advance to a play-off for the final four spots in Europe in a 48-team final.
Teams are seeded into five pots (more on that later). One slight problem is that teams that reach the Nations League semi-finals must be in groups of four teams. Since the quarterfinals have not yet taken place, we cannot fully assign these teams today. For example, Italy will play Germany in the last eight, so both teams will be divided into groups of four or five teams, with the winners of the ties joining the four-team groups.
Matches will be held across five international breaks, 21-25 March 2025, 6-10 June, 4-9 September, 9-14 October and 13-18 November 2025.
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Teams are seeded in five pots (details of those to follow) – one slight wrinkle is that teams who reach the Nations League semi-finals must go into a four-team group. As the quarter-finals have not been played yet, those teams can’t be fully allocated today. For instance, Italy play Germany in the last eight, so both teams will be pencilled in to a four- and five- team group, with the winner of the tie going into the four-team group.
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The games will be held across five international breaks, on 21-25 March, 6-10 June, 4-9 September, 9-14 October and 13-18 November 2025.
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Manchester City posted record revenues last season but profit dropped from the previous 12 months, the club’s annual report has revealed. In 2023/24, revenues increased from £712.8m to £715m for the year to 30 June as City won their fourth consecutive Premier League title.
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However, profits dipped from £80.4m in City’s treble-winning season to £73.8m, with a drop in broadcast income due to Pep Guardiola’s side missing out on the Champions League final. City’s current investments include a £300million expansion of the north stand of the Etihad Stadium.
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The club’s chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said: “Our constant ambition to target and achieve the unprecedented is a mark of the organisation that we have become. Our focus remains on further evolution and growth and therefore further value creation in all aspects of our business.”
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City are awaiting a decision on more than 100 charges of alleged breaches of financial rules brought against them by the Premier League, of which only brief mention was made in the financial report. The club have denied the charges.
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The 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams, and 16 of them will come from Europe. Friday’s draw in Zurich will set up the Uefa qualifying groups – 12 in total – with Thomas Tuchel discovering the path he has to lead England to the finals. His side are in pot one, Wales in pot two, and Scotland in pot three alongside Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. That draw gets under way at 11am (GMT) today.
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Elsewhere, there are plenty of press conferences as the Premier League continues this weekend. Newcastle’s Eddie Howe and Liverpool’s Arne Slot are both talking this morning, with Ange Postecoglou, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta coming up later. We’ll also try to keep you updated on all the day’s developing football news.
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main events
The team in pot 1 is drawn first. These are the highest ranked teams in Europe, including the Euro 2024 winners. Spainfinalist england,plus Germany, Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria.
Helping with today's draw duties are Roberto Pires, Ariane Hingst, Fernando Llorente, Rachel Yankee and Gianluca Zambrotta. They will be joined by Manolo Zubirria, Tournament Chief Officer for the 2026 World Cup.
Presenter Semra Hunter took to the stage in Zurich, joined by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, wearing his customary suit and icy white Stan Smiths. He seemed less enthusiastic today than he was at Wednesday's World Cup hosting party, and spoke briefly about hosting the “best World Cup ever” before departing again.
In addition to 16 teams from Europe, the 2026 World Cup will feature nine teams from Africa, eight teams from Asia, and six teams from South America. All three host nations – Canada, the United States and Mexico – automatically qualify. Three other teams from North and Central America (Concacaf) will qualify. For the first time, automatic spots have been installed in Oceania. They will face Australia in the AFC qualifiers, but it is very likely that New Zealand will take part. In addition, two more teams will qualify for the final intercontinental playoffs in March 2026.
The seeding pots are as follows.
pot 1: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria.
Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway.
Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel.
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Kosovo, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania.
Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino.
What will happen to the UEFA lottery results?
There are 12 qualifying groups, 6 groups of 5 teams and 6 groups of 4 teams, competing at home and away, with only group winners automatically passing through. The runners-up (and the four teams with the best results in the Nations League) will advance to a play-off for the final four spots in Europe in a 48-team final.
Teams are seeded into five pots (more on that later). One slight problem is that teams that make it to the Nations League semi-finals have to be placed in groups of four teams. Since the quarterfinals have not yet taken place, we cannot fully assign these teams today. For example, Italy will play Germany in the last eight, so both teams will be divided into groups of four or five teams, with the winners of the ties joining the four-team groups.
Matches will be held across five international breaks, 21-25 March 2025, 6-10 June, 4-9 September, 9-14 October and 13-18 November 2025.
Manchester City record record revenue but profits fall
Manchester City posted record revenues last season, but profits have fallen from the previous 12 months, the club's annual report has revealed. City's fourth successive Premier League win in 2023/24 saw City's annual revenue to 30 June rise from £712.8m to £715m.
However, profits fell from £80.4m in City's treble-winning season to £73.8m due to a drop in broadcasting revenue after Josep Guardiola's side missed out on the Champions League final. City's current investments include a £300m expansion of the North Stand at the Etihad Stadium.
Club President Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Our relentless ambition to aim and achieve the unprecedented is what has made us the organization we are today. We will continue to focus on creating further value.”
City are awaiting judgment on more than 100 charges of breaching financial rules brought against them by the Premier League, which were only briefly mentioned in the financial report. The club denies the charges.
This weekend's highlights…
preamble
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams for the first time, 16 of which will be from Europe. Friday's draw in Zurich will determine the UEFA qualifying group (12 in total) as Thomas Tuchel finds his way to lead England to the final. His team is in Pot 1, Wales in Pot 2 and Scotland in Pot 3 along with Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The draw will begin today at 11am GMT.
As the Premier League continues this weekend, many press conferences will be held in other regions. Newcastle's Eddie Howe and Liverpool's Arne Slott met this morning, followed by Ange Postecoglou, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta. We will also keep you updated with the latest soccer news of the day.
