The Draw for the 2026 World Cup Playoffs

The 48 teams that will compete in the 2026 World Cup will be completed with the six teams emerging from the European and intercontinental playoffs. The former offers four spots among 16 teams, while the latter provides two spots contested by six teams. Both playoffs will take place between March 26 and 31, with the draw scheduled for this Thursday at 1:00 PM at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

In the European playoffs, there will be four paths, each featuring four teams. Each path will have two semifinals and a final, all single-leg matches. The four winners will secure their World Cup tickets. This preliminary round in Europe includes the 12 runners-up from each World Cup qualifying group and four teams from the Nations League. Slovakia, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Italy, Albania, Czech Republic, Denmark, Kosovo, Wales, and Bosnia finished second in their groups, while the four 'rescued' from the Nations League are Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, and North Macedonia.

For this Thursday's draw, these 16 European teams will be divided into four pots according to the latest FIFA ranking. Pot 4 will be exclusively for those 'rescued' via the Nations League, and the rest will be as follows: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, and Ukraine in Pot 1; Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, and Slovakia in Pot 2; and Albania, Ireland, Bosnia, and Kosovo in Pot 3.

In the intercontinental playoff, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will advance directly to the final due to their superior FIFA ranking, while Bolivia, New Caledonia, Jamaica, and Suriname will enter a single pot from which the matchups will be drawn.

The Concacaf will be the only confederation with two representatives in the intercontinental playoff: Jamaica and Suriname. Bolivia represents Conmebol after finishing seventh in the qualifiers, and Iraq, representing Asia, defeated the United Arab Emirates in the last round. As for Africa, the representative will be Congo, having beaten Nigeria on penalties. Lastly, New Caledonia is in this playoff after losing to New Zealand.

Both the semifinal and final matches will also be single-leg, with the only condition being that the two Concacaf countries cannot face each other in the semifinals, meaning Bolivia and New Caledonia will play against Jamaica or Suriname. The two winners of the finals will qualify for the World Cup. All matches in this intercontinental playoff will be held in the Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey.