Though the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup have come to an finish on all continents, we nonetheless have nights of agony and glory left within the playoff matches.
22 nationwide groups will compete in two playoffs beginning in March to find out the final six spots within the 2026 World Cup. Test beneath to see the way it will all work.
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🇪🇺 The European Playoff
Europe could have 16 groups vying for 4 spots. Who’s within the playoff?
Through qualifiers: Italy, Albania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Eire, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Kosovo, Bosnia, Wales, and Denmark.
Through Nations League: Northern Eire, Sweden, Romania, and North Macedonia.
FIFA will maintain a draw this Thursday the twentieth, at 13:00, distributing the groups into 4 pots, with 4 groups every.
From there, 4 direct elimination paths can be shaped, with single-leg semifinals and finals:
Semifinals: Pot 1 × Pot 4 and Pot 2 × Pot 3
Finals: winners of every semifinal
The 4 groups that win their paths will safe a spot within the Cup.
🎟️ The European Playoff Pots
Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, and Ukraine
Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, and Slovakia
Pot 3: Eire, Albania, Bosnia, and Kosovo
Pot 4: Northern Eire, Romania, Sweden, and North Macedonia
🌎 The Intercontinental Playoff
The opposite playoff brings collectively six groups from completely different confederations competing for 2 spots. Who’s collaborating?
The certified groups are: Bolivia (CONMEBOL), New Caledonia (Oceania), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa), Iraq (Asia), Suriname (CONCACAF), Jamaica (CONCACAF)
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Iraq and DR Congo begin instantly within the finals on account of their larger FIFA rating.
FIFA will draw two matchups this Thursday. Suriname and Jamaica can not face one another within the semifinals as they belong to the identical confederation.
The semifinals and finals, all single-leg matches, can be performed in Mexico, one of many World Cup hosts.
🛣️ Attainable Paths within the Worldwide Playoff
📸 JOHAN ORDONEZ – AFP or licensors
Semifinals: Jamaica vs Bolivia or New Caledonia and Suriname vs Bolivia or New Caledonia
Finals: Iraq vs winner of the primary semifinal or DR Congo vs winner of the second semifinal
The 2 groups that win the ultimate will safe their spot within the World Cup.
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👍🏻 Who’s already certified?
The hosts: Canada, United States, and Mexico.
From Africa (9): South Africa, Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia.
From South America (6): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
From Central and North America (3): Curaçao, Haiti, and Panama.
From Asia (8): Saudi Arabia, Australia, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, and Uzbekistan.
From Europe (12): Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Scotland, Spain, France, Netherlands, England, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland.
From Oceania (1): New Zealand.
This text was translated into English by Synthetic Intelligence.
📸 Timothy Rogers – 2023 Getty Photographs