2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G
Association football tournament group
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group G was one of the twelve UEFA groups in the World Cup qualification tournament to decide which teams would qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.[1] Group G consisted of five teams: Finland, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland. The teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format from March to November 2025. However, as the Netherlands were involved in the Nations League A quarter-finals in March, they began their qualifying campaign in June 2025.
The group winners, the Netherlands, qualified directly for the World Cup finals, while the runners-up, Poland, advanced to the second round (play-offs).
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands |
8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 4 | +23 | 20 | Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 8–0 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Poland |
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 17 | Advance to play-offs | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| 3 | Finland |
8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 14 | −6 | 10 | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Malta |
8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 19 | −15 | 5 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 5 | Lithuania |
8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 15 | −9 | 3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — |
Matches
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).
| Malta | 0–1 | Finland |
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| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
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| Lithuania | 2–2 | Finland |
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| Poland | 2–0 | Malta |
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Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
| Finland | 2–1 | Poland |
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| Netherlands | 1–1 | Poland |
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| Lithuania | 2–3 | Netherlands |
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Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
| Poland | 3–1 | Finland |
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| Lithuania | 0–2 | Poland |
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| Finland | 0–1 | Malta |
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| Poland | 1–1 | Netherlands |
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Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
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| Malta | 2–3 | Poland |
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Goalscorers
There were 59 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 2.95 goals per match.
8 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Discipline
A player or team official was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[25]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
- Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:[26]
| Team | Player | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | Robert Ivanov |  vs Lithuania (24 March 2025) vs Lithuania (9 October 2025) | vs Netherlands (12 October 2025) |
| Matti Peltola | vs Malta (21 March 2025) vs Netherlands (12 October 2025) | vs Malta (14 November 2025) | |
| Lithuania | Artemijus Tutyškinas | vs Malta (7 June 2025) vs Malta (4 September 2025) | vs Netherlands (7 September 2025) |
| Edgaras Utkus |  vs Malta (4 September 2025) | vs Netherlands (7 September 2025) vs Finland (9 October 2025)[27] | |
| Artūr Dolžnikov | vs Malta (4 September 2025) vs Finland (9 October 2025) | vs Poland (12 October 2025) | |
| Edvinas Girdvainis | vs Finland (24 March 2025) vs Poland (12 October 2025) | vs Netherlands (17 November 2025) | |
| Malta | Gabriel Mentz |  vs Andorra in 2024–25 UEFA Nations League (19 November 2024) | vs Finland (21 March 2025) vs Poland (24 March 2025) vs Lithuania (7 June 2025) |
| Kurt Shaw | vs Finland (21 March 2025) | vs Poland (24 March 2025) vs Lithuania (7 June 2025) | |
| Ilyas Chouaref | vs Poland (24 March 2025) | vs Lithuania (7 June 2025) vs Netherlands (10 June 2025) | |
| Matthew Guillaumier | vs Lithuania (7 June 2025) vs Netherlands (10 June 2025) | vs Lithuania (4 September 2025) | |
| Zach Muscat | vs Poland (24 March 2025) vs Lithuania (4 September 2025) | vs Netherlands (9 October 2025) | |
| Paul Mbong | vs Lithuania (7 June 2025) vs Lithuania (4 September 2025) | vs Netherlands (9 October 2025) | |
| Jake Azzopardi | vs Lithuania (4 September 2025) | vs Netherlands (9 October 2025) vs Finland (14 November 2025) | |
| Ryan Camenzuli | vs Lithuania (7 June 2025) vs Netherlands (9 October 2025) | vs Finland (14 November 2025) | |
| Teddy Teuma | vs Netherlands (10 June 2025) vs Netherlands (9 October 2025) | vs Finland (14 November 2025) | |
| Netherlands | Jan Paul van Hecke | vs Finland (7 June 2025) vs Poland (14 November 2025) | vs Lithuania (17 November 2025) |
| Poland | Bartosz Slisz | vs Malta (24 March 2025) vs Lithuania (12 October 2025) | vs Netherlands (14 November 2025) |
| Przemysław Wiśniewski | vs Finland (7 September 2025) vs Lithuania (12 October 2025) | vs Netherlands (14 November 2025) |