25/26 EFL Trophy Round of 16 draw live in full

Time for the 25/26 EFL Trophy Round of 16 draw to be made live in full now that round of 32 has been played out this week.

It took place live on Sky Sports Football on Saturday the 6th of December during the Sky Sports EFL Show with Sky Sports’ David Prutton hosting the draw alongside Wesley Morgan and Curtis Davies, at approximately 11:45am (although they finally got underway to doing it at 11am.

For the Round of 16, the competition will remain regionalised with a Northern and Southern section draw taking place.

Teams will then be drawn against an opponent in their respective region. With Colchester United v West Ham United U21s taking place after the draw, both teams will be assigned the same ball number with the winner of the fixture then taking their place in that drawn tie. Ball numbers can be found below…

Northern Section ball numbers
1 – Bolton Wanderers
2 – Doncaster Rovers
3 – Fleetwood Town
4 – Harrogate Town
5 – Huddersfield Town
6 – Port Vale
7 – Rotherham United
8 – Stockport County

Southern Section ball numbers
1 – AFC Wimbledon
2 – Bristol Rovers
3 – Luton Town
4 – Northampton Town
5 – Plymouth Argyle
6 – Swindon Town
7 – Walsall
8 – Colchester United or West Ham United U21

Ties to be played week commencing 12 January 2026.

👇 EFL TROPHY ROUND OF 16 DRAW 👇

NORTHERN SECTION
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN v ROTHERHAM UNITED
DONCASTER ROVERS v FLEETWOOD TOWN
BOLTON WANDERERS v PORT VALE
STOCKPORT COUNTY v HARROGATE TOWN

SOUTHERN SECTION
COLCHESTER or WEST HAM U21s v AFC WIMBLEDON
LUTON TOWN v SWINDON TOWN
NORTHAMPTON TOWN v WALSALL
BRISTOL ROVERS v PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

PRIZE MONEY

EFL Clubs Participation – £20,000 per Club
Group Stages – £10,000 per win / £5,000 per draw
Round of 32 – £20,000 per win
Round of 16 – £40,000 per win
Quarter Finals – £50,000 per win
Runners Up – £50,000
Winners – £100,000

ROUND OF 32 RESULTS

Bolton Wanderers 3–0 Bradford City
Luton Town 4–0 Exeter City
Swindon Town 1–0 Peterborough United
Cardiff City 1–5 AFC Wimbledon
Lincoln City 0–2 Huddersfield Town
Leyton Orient 0–1 Plymouth Argyle
Doncaster Rovers 5–1 Chesterfield
Crewe Alexandra 1–1 (1–4 p) Stockport County
Harrogate Town 4–2 Blackpool
Tranmere Rovers 0–3 Fleetwood Town
Northampton Town 2–0 Wycombe Wanderers
Bristol Rovers 2–2 (4–2 p) Cambridge United
Port Vale 5–0 Barnsley
Salford City 2–7 Rotherham United
Stevenage 1–2 Walsall
Colchester United v West Ham U21 (to be played)

🔝🖐️⚽️ A look back at some of the best goals from this week’s #VertuTrophy action! 😍 pic.twitter.com/QF8i8mmThY

— Vertu Trophy (@VertuTrophy) December 5, 2025

Here’s how fans reacted after the EFL Trophy Round of 16 draw…

@wallace_danny: Easy w for the Huddersfield boys. Park the bus millers have to actually attack for once 🙏🏽

@jimhampshire: #BTeamBoycott

@WanderasLuke: Crazy how we predominantly get drawn at home in this comp #bwfc

@CameronJeromeFC: Announce Wembley #bwfc

@ColBwfc: Jesus, going Wembley again aren’t we. #BWFC

@JayPVFC: We draw Bolton every year in at least one competition I stg 🤣

@BUNF28: Easy game after easy game in this comp, are we going to get to the final without one tough draw #pvfc

@PicardyBreezer: Swear to god this is becoming one of those footballing conspiracies 😂 We never don’t play Bolton away at some point in this fucker 😂 #pvfc

@Oscar56112948: Oh lads Darren Moore ball in full force again #pvfc

@TristanWil88128: Every fucking year man for fuck sake 🤣 #pvfc

@j17_jjL: Good chance to progress to quarters #drfc

@RaddersDRFC: A HOME cup draw. What on earth is this nonsense?! #drfc

‘Then give them Bolton or Barnsley again’ pic.twitter.com/ZsQiYdVREF

— No Context Port Vale (@NoContextPVFC) December 6, 2025

Competition Format

From Round of 32 phase to the Semi-Finals, no extra time shall be played. The winners shall be determined by penalty kicks.

Extra time will apply only in the Final if the result is level after ninety minutes’ duration. A period of 30 minutes will be played. If still equal the winner is then decided by penalties.

How to watch

For UK fans, all Vertu Trophy matches are broadcast live on Sky Sports, via Sky Sports+ and on streaming service NOW.

For international fans, Vertu Trophy matches are available for live streaming via Club platforms.

List of EFL Trophy winners

Three wins: Bristol City

Two wins: Carlisle United, Grimsby Town, Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Blackpool, Port Vale, Rotherham United, Stoke City, Swansea City, Wigan Athletic

One win: Tranmere Rovers, Bournemouth, Chesterfield, Lincoln City, Millwall, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Barnsley, Coventry City, Crewe Alexandra, Luton Town, Mansfield Town, MK Dons, Peterborough United, Salford City, Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wrexham

List of EFL Trophy Trophy finals

1981-82 – Grimsby Town 3-2 Wimbledon
1982-83 – Millwall 3-2 Lincoln City
1983-84 – Bournemouth 2-1 Hull City
1984-85 – Wigan Athletic 3-1 Brentford
1985-86 – Bristol City 3-0 Bolton Wanderers
1986-87 – Mansfield Town 1-1 Bristol City (Mansfield Town won 5-4 on penalties)
1987-88 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Burnley
1988-89 – Bolton Wanderers 4-1 Torquay United
1989-90 – Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Bristol Rovers
1990-91 – Birmingham City 3-2 Tranmere Rovers
1991-92 – Stoke City 1-0 Stockport County
1992-93 – Port Vale 2-1 Stockport County
1993-94 – Swansea City 1-1 Huddersfield Town (Swansea won 3-1 on penalties)
1994-95 – Birmingham City 1-0 Carlisle United
1995-96 – Rotherham United 2-1 Shrewsbury Town
1996-97 – Carlisle United 0-0 Colchester United (Carlisle United won 4-3 on penalties)
1997-98 – Grimsby Town 2-1 Bournemouth (aet)
1998-99 – Wigan Athletic 1-0 Millwall
1999-00 – Stoke City 2-1 Bristol City
2000-01 – Port Vale 2-1 Brentford
2001-02 – Blackpool 4-1 Cambridge United
2002-03 – Bristol City 2-0 Carlisle United
2003-04 – Blackpool 2-0 Southend United
2004-05 – Wrexham 2-0 Southend United (aet)
2005-06 – Swansea City 2-1 Carlisle United
2006-07 – Doncaster City 3-2 Bristol Rovers (aet)
2007-08 – MK Dons 2-0 Grimsby Town
2008-09 – Luton Town 3-2 Scunthorpe United (aet)
2009-10 – Southampton 4-1 Carlisle United
2010-11 – Carlisle United 1-0 Brentford
2011-12 – Chesterfield 2-0 Swindon Town
2012-13 – Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Southend United
2013-14 – Peterborough United 3-1 Chesterfield
2014-15 – Bristol City 2-0 Walsall
2015-16 – Barnsley 3-2 Oxford United
2016-17 – Coventry City 2-1 Oxford United
2017-18 – Lincoln City 1-0 Shrewsbury Town
2018-19 – Portsmouth 2-2 Sunderland (Portsmouth won 5-4 on penalties)
2019-20 – Salford City 0-0 Portsmouth (Salford City won 4-2 on penalties)
2020-21 – Sunderland 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
2021-22 – Rotherham United 4-2 Sutton United (aet)
2022-23 – Bolton Wanderers 4-0 Plymouth Argyle
2023-24 – Peterborough 2 -1 Wycombe
2024-25 – Birmingham 0-2 Peterborough