FIFA has officially announced the draw for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Playoffs, giving 6 teams a final opportunity to book their tickets for football’s biggest party.
Ahead of the Summer’s biggest event the FIFA World Cup 2026, a total of 42 teams out of 48 have booked their slots for the gala event to be co-host by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
There is still room for 6 more teams to enter the upcoming Football World Cup 2026, all of which will be decided through the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier Playoffs scheduled for March 2026.
On 20 November 2025, FIFA completed the draw and laid-out the pathway for the final six teams to seal their place into the World Cup 2026. A total of 22 teams are still in reckoning for the last 6 slots over the UEFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier Playoffs and the Inter-confederation playoffs.
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification UEFA Playoffs
UEFA, the governing body of football in the whole of Europe continent, were alloted a total of 16 berths for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Already 12 teams have qualified leaving four slots available, which will now be decided through the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification UEFA Playoffs.
There will be a total of 16 teams that will take part in the UEFA Playoffs and the most notable name among them is Italy, who have once again failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup directly through the qualifiers.
The other top teams which will feature in this playoffs includes the likes of Wales, Turkey, Denmark and Poland.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification UEFA Playoffs will include a total of 8 semi-final matches progressing into 4 final matches and finally the winners of which will qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Below is the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification UEFA Playoffs schedule.
| Path | Round | Date | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Path 1 | Semi-final 1 | 26 March 2026 | Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Semi-final 2 | 26 March 2026 | Italy vs Northern Ireland | |
| Final | 31 March 2026 | Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 | |
| Path 2 | Semi-final 3 | 26 March 2026 | Ukraine vs Sweden |
| Semi-final 4 | 26 March 2026 | Poland vs Albania | |
| Final | 31 March 2026 | Winner SF3 vs Winner SF4 | |
| Path 3 | Semi-final 5 | 26 March 2026 | Slovakia vs Kosovo |
| Semi-final 6 | 26 March 2026 | Turkey vs Romania | |
| Final | 31 March 2026 | Winner SF5 vs Winner SF6 | |
| Path 4 | Semi-final 7 | 26 March 2026 | Czech Republic vs Republic of Ireland |
| Semi-final 8 | 26 March 2026 | Denmark vs North Macedonia | |
| Final | 31 March 2026 | Winner SF7 vs Winner SF8 |
FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Inter-Confederation Playoffs
Other than 4 slots for the UEFA Playoffs, there will be further 2 slots available for teams across confederations.
There are total of 6 teams in contention for those final two slots in the FIFA World Cup 2026 intercontinental playoffs representing AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and OFC.
In the FIFA World Cup 2026 intercontinental playoffs, there will be 2 semi-final matches and two final matches and the winner of both the final games will qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Of the 6 teams competing in this 2026 FIFA World Cup Inter-confederation playoffs, the two highest ranked teams DR Congo and Iraq have already qualified for the final while the winners of the two semi-finals will meet them in the finals respectively.
| Path | Round | Date | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Path 1 | Semi-final 1 | March 2026 | New Caledonia vs Jamaica |
| Final | March 2026 | DR Congo vs Winner SF1 | |
| Path 2 | Semi-final 2 | March 2026 | Bolivia vs Suriname |
| Final | March 2026 | Iraq vs Winner SF2 |
1 thought on “FIFA World Cup 2026 Playoffs Schedule Breakdown”