The FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers continue to come to a close on Monday night when three more groups play their final matches on an evening where we will find out the identity of some more nations making it into the final stages.
It is a big night for the former champions Germany as they look to make it through to the final stages while a couple of other big teams will be celebrating having already achieved that goal as they conclude their campaign.
Group A
The big match of the night comes along in Group A where Germany still have to secure their automatic qualification. They will achieve that if they can avoid defeat at home to Slovakia but there is plenty on the line for the visitors as a Slovakia win will send them through to the World Cup without the need of a play-off spot. The other match in the group is now a dead rubber in Belfast with Northern Ireland and Luxembourg guaranteed to finish third and fourth in the group respectively.
Group G
Things are almost settled in Group G although technically the Netherlands still need a point to guarantee their automatic qualification. They host Lithuania in what would represent a perfect opportunity for them to get the job done themselves but even if they don’t it would need Poland to win away to Malta and there be a 13 goal swing between themselves and the Dutch so the reality is that the Netherlands will qualify and Poland will be in the play-offs with both potentially winning to get there.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for the World Cup Qualifiers! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Group L
The other group concluding on Friday night is Group L and that has already had all of the major things sorted out. We know that Croatia will be in North America next summer and they will celebrate their success by concluding their campaign away to Montenegro. Czechia will know if they are going to join them at the finals then they are going to need to win a couple of knockout play-off matches and they can finalise their preparations for them when they welcome a Gibraltar side who should be there for the taking.
Betting
There isn’t a huge amount to go at here with only one genuinely competitive fixture on the card but I will take one bet. It comes away from that Germany vs Slovakia and instead I’ll focus on the game between Northern Ireland and Luxembourg where I am expecting a home win. Luxembourg have really regressed recently and have lost all five matches in this group and only scored one goal in the section and there is nothing I see that suggests that is going to change.
Technically, Northern Ireland don’t need to win this game but after successive defeats they will want to win this and restore a bit of confidence and momentum ahead of their play-off campaign in March. At the same time, I don’t expect anyone who is a card away from suspension to feature so while I would expect a Northern Ireland win, I don’t see a landslide coming, especially as they have a couple of forwards who are under an injury cloud and their biggest set-piece threat is suspended. Northern Ireland are a little short for me to comfortably back on the match prices but if you add under 3.5 goals to the bet the price lifts to just above evens and that entices me much more.
Tips
Back Northern Ireland to beat Luxembourg and under 3.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 2.05 with Coral
