Six Final Passes on the Line: The Global and European Playoff Showdown for World Cup 2026

FIFA will host the draws for the 2026 World Cup intercontinental playoff and the European playoff on Thursday, as the finals tournament heads to the United States, Canada, and Mexico in 2026.

The ceremony takes place at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, scheduled for 13:00 CET, with a 15:00 local time start for fans in the Gulf region. Organizers will stream the draws on FIFA.com, while BeIN Sports will broadcast the event on television.

As of now, 42 teams have already qualified for the tournament, leaving six spots up for grabs. These six teams will be decided through two separate playoff routes: one global and one European, featuring teams from every continent except Europe (for the global route) plus a quartet of UEFA contenders and four Nations League teams (for the European route).

The six teams entering the global playoff are New Caledonia (Oceania), Bolivia (South America), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa), Iraq (Asia), Jamaica, and Suriname (both from CONCACAF).

New Caledonia qualified by finishing second in the Oceania third round, Bolivia by finishing seventh in South American qualification, DR Congo by winning the African playoff, Iraq via the Asian playoff after a decisive win in the Asian tier, and Jamaica and Suriname by finishing second in their CONCACAF groups.

For the European playoff, 16 teams will compete: 12 runners-up from the UEFA qualifying groups and four teams that advanced through the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League. The European participants include Italy, Ukraine, Turkey, and Denmark in the top seed quartet; Wales, Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic in the second seed; Kosovo, the Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania in the third; and Romania, Northern Ireland, Sweden, and North Macedonia in the fourth seed.

Qualifying through the European route follows a four-path format. Each path consists of four teams, one from each seed, with the top seed facing the bottom seed in a single-leg semi-final hosted by the higher-seeded team. The winners of the two semi-finals in a path then meet the other semi-final winner in the same path, with the path winner earning a World Cup berth. The host venue for each path’s final match is determined by another draw after the semi-finals conclude.

Meanwhile, the global playoff matches are set to be hosted in Mexico, at Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron and Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA (or equivalent venues), as organizers test stadium readiness ahead of the summer finals.

Who advances to the World Cup from each confederation?

In total, six more teams will join Canada, Mexico, and the United States for the 2026 edition in North America. Asia includes Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan; Africa features Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia; CONCACAF lists Curaçao, Haiti, and Panama; South America adds Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay; Oceania adds New Zealand; Europe’s slate comprises Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Switzerland.

Stay tuned as the draw order, matchups, and dates become official in the coming days, with March 2026 marking the return to the field for the crucial playoff ties that will shape the 2026 World Cup field.

And yes, if your team isn’t in the mix this time, remember: football is a game, but global logistics are the real sport—planes, hotels, and a lot of coffee. Punchlines incoming: if playoffs were a hobby, the trophy would have frequent flyer status; and if your team’s fans are anything like your Wi‑Fi, you’ll be buffering live reactions all the way to the final whistle.