Uefa will ask for 16 World Cup places for European teams

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European football’s governing body will ask for its teams to be given 16 places at the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup.

Uefa will also request that the European teams who do qualify are kept apart in the first stage.

The new-look tournament will begin with an initial round of 16 three-team groups, with 32 qualifiers going through to the knockout stage.

Thirteen European teams qualified for the last World Cup in Brazil in 2014, which was won by Germany.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said the requests are “realistic”, and it is his desire for every European team to qualify from the first round.

FIFA is expected to confirm the quotas for each continental governing body in May.

Ceferin was speaking at a meeting of the Uefa Executive Committee in Nyon. All members of the committee agreed with the proposals.

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