2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

In October 2016, England was announced as the host the tournament, granting them automatic qualification.[1]

In March 2017, the RLIF confirmed that the 8 quarter-finalists from the 2017 World Cup would receive automatic qualification to the 2021 tournament, along with details of how many slots each region will be allocated: "Seven teams will be qualified from Europe, six from the Asia-Pacific, two from the Americas, and one from a play-off series hosted in Middle East/Africa."[2] Because Lebanon gained automatic qualification, a repechage play-off between the 2nd placed Middle East/Africa team (behind Lebanon), 2nd placed Americas team (behind the Americas qualifying team), and the 7th placed Asia-Pacific team (behind the 6 auto qualifiers) will take place instead of qualifying 2 Americas teams.

The RLIF requires participating nations to hold full or affiliate level membership.[3] The Netherlands are the only such nation that opted to not participate.

England are the only European team to have been guaranteed qualification, with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales all failing to reach the quarter finals of the 2017 World Cup. With the World Cup expanding to 16 teams in 2021, one extra European slot is available in comparison to the 2017 tournament.

First round

Main article: 2018 Rugby League European Championship

The 2018 European Championship will automatically qualify 2 teams to the World Cup, the bottom two nations will become the top seeds in the 2019 final European qualifying tournament.[5][6]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	3	0	0	106	38	+68	6	2021 World Cup
2	Wales	3	2	0	1	108	74	+34	4
3	Ireland	3	1	0	2	54	74	−20	2	European play-off
4	Scotland	3	0	0	3	32	114	−82	0

Updated to match(es) played on 12 November 2018. Source:

27 October 2018	Ireland	36−10	Scotland	Morton Stadium, Santry
27 October 2018	France	54−18	Wales	Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
2 November 2018	Scotland	12−50	Wales	Netherdale, Galashiels
3 November 2018	Ireland	10−24	France	Morton Stadium, Santry
10 November 2018	France	28−10	Scotland	Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
11 November 2018	Wales	40−8	Ireland	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Second round

Main article: 2019 Rugby League European play-off tournament

The European play-off tournament will qualify four teams to the World Cup. It is scheduled for October and November 2019 and will consist of:

•  Ireland
•  Scotland
•  Serbia[lower-alpha 1]
•  Spain
•  Greece
•  Italy

The six teams will be split into two round-robin pools. The winners and runner-up in each pool will qualify for the 2021 World Cup. There will be no European qualification to the intercontinental play-off.

1. Russia were the winners of the European Qualifying B tournament but withdrew from the play-offs in August 2019 to be replaced by Serbia.[7]

Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ireland	2	2	0	0	67	12	+55	4	Qualified for World Cup
2	Italy	2	1	0	1	38	29	+9	2
3	Spain	2	0	0	2	12	76	−64	0	Eliminated

First match(es) will be played on October 26, 2019. Source:

26 October 2019	Spain	8–42	Ireland	Xàtiva
2 November 2019	Italy	34–4	Spain	Lignano Sabbiadoro
9 November 2019	Ireland	25–4	Italy	Santry

Pool B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Scotland	2	2	0	0	128	24	+104	4	Qualified for World Cup
2	Greece	2	1	0	1	106	48	+58	2
3	Serbia	2	0	0	2	6	168	−162	0	Eliminated

First match(es) will be played on October 26, 2019. Source:

26 October 2019	Scotland	86–0	Serbia	Glasgow
1 November 2019	Greece	24–42	Scotland	London
9 November 2019	Serbia	6–82	Greece	Belgrade

The Americas group comprised four teams and was played as a single elimination knock-out tournament. Jamaica won the group beating Canada in the first round and then United States in the final. United States qualified for the intercontinental play-off by finishing as the runner-up of the tournament.[8]

Preliminary matches

13 November 2018	Canada	8–38	Jamaica	Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville
13 November 2018	United States	62–0	Chile	Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville

Play-off match

17 November 2018	Jamaica	16–10	United States	Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville

The intercontinental play-off will consist of the Americas championship runner up (United States), 7th highest ranked Asia-Pacific team (Cook Islands), and the 2nd highest ranked Middle East-Africa team (South Africa).

Preliminary match

21 June 2019	Cook Islands	66−6	South Africa	Ringrose Park, Sydney

Play-off match

16 November 2019	United States	16–38	Cook Islands	Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville