Group stage
Teams will be split into ten groups of five or six (the four teams who reach the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals will be in the smaller groups). The ten group winners qualify for the World Cup.

Play-offs
The ten group runners-up are joined by the two best group winners of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League overall ranking that have neither qualified directly for the final tournament as European Qualifiers group winners, nor entered the play-offs already as European Qualifiers group runners-up. The 12 teams will be drawn into three play-off paths for one-off semi-finals and a final. The three path winners qualify for the World Cup.

When do the matches and finals take place?
Matchday 1: 25–27 March 2021
Matchday 2: 28–30 March 2021
Matchday 3: 4–5 June 2021
Matchday 4: 7–8 June 2021
Matchday 5: 2–4 September 2021
Matchday 6: 5–7 September 2021
Matchday 7: 7–9 October 2021
Matchday 8: 10–12 October 2021
Matchday 9: 11–13 November 2021
Matchday 10: 14–16 November 2021

Play-offs: 24, 25, 28, 29 March 2022