2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Playoffs Preview
By: AT
Image Credit: Miguel Ramírez
As of writing, 42 nations have qualified for the newly expanded 48-nation FIFA World Cup, which will take place in June and July 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The remaining six nations will qualify via the upcoming playoffs: the European playoffs (hereafter referred as Europe) and the Intercontinental Playoffs (ICP). Four nations will qualify from Europe and two more will advance via the ICP. Both playoffs will consist of two rounds of single knockout matches.
The schedules for both playoffs are as follows:
Thursday, March 26 — Path Semifinals
European Playoffs
Path A: Italy vs Northern Ireland, New Balance Arena, Bergamo
Path A: Wales vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
Path B: Poland vs Albania, National Stadium, Warsaw
Path B: Ukraine vs Sweden, Estadi Ciutat de València, Valencia
Path C: Slovakia vs Kosovo, Tehelné pole, Bratislava
Path C: Türkiye vs Romania, Tüpraş Stadium, Istanbul
Path D: Czechia vs Ireland, Fortuna Arena, Prague
Path D: Denmark vs North Macedonia, Parken, Copenhagen
Intercontinental Playoffs
Path A: New Caledonia vs Jamaica, Estadio Akron, Zapopan (Guadalajara)
Path B: Bolivia vs Suriname, Estadio BBVA, Guadeloupe (Monterrey)
Tuesday, March 31 — Path FINALS
European Playoffs
Path A: Winner 1 vs Winner 2, held at the home stadium of Bosnia (Zenica) or Wales (Cardiff)
Path B: Winner 1 vs Winner 2, held at the home stadium of Sweden (Solna) or in Valencia, where Ukraine will play its March 2026 matches
Path C: Winner 1 vs Winner 2, held at the home stadium of Slovakia (Bratislava) or Kosovo (Pristina)
Path D: Winner 1 vs Winner 2, held at the home stadium of Czechia (Prague) or Ireland (Dublin)
Intercontinental Playoffs
Path A: Winner of Path A semifinal vs DR Congo, Estadio Akron
Path B: Winner of Path B semifinal vs Iraq, Estadio BBVA
European Playoffs
In Europe, 16 nations — which are divided equally into four paths — will compete in semifinal matches, with eight of these nations advancing to the final round. The four winning nations — one per path — will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Figure 1 shows a map of European countries and their qualification statuses for the 2026 World Cup.
Note: Russia have been suspended from all FIFA and UEFA activities, including World Cup qualifiers, since 2022.
These 16 playoff participants include some nations with reputable pedigrees, from Italy in Path A, to Sweden in Path B, to Türkiye in Path C to Denmark in Path D. These nations have either won a major international trophy, or finished among the top three nations at a World Cup tournament or as champions of the tournament.
The 16 nations boast a combined total of 82 World Cup tournament appearances, with Italy leading all 16 nations with 18 appearances. In these 18 tournament appearances, Italy have won a joint-second-best four World Cup titles. Sweden have the second-largest number of tournament appearances, with 12. This total includes a World Cup final appearances in 1958, which they lost 5-2 to Brazil. Three of the 16 nations — Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia — are seeking their first tournament appearances.
Figure 2 presents the 16 European playoff participants, anlong with the number of World Cup tournament appearances for each nation and their most recent tournament appearances.
Notes: This figure excludes World Cup appearances for the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, which belong to Russia and Serbia, respectively.
Czechoslovakia had qualified eight times prior to being divided into Slovakia and Czechia in 1993. FIFA considers both Czechia and Slovakia as the joint successor teams of Czechoslovakia. The Czechia national team qualified for the World Cup for the first time as a separate nation in 2006, with Slovakia achieving the same in 2010.
Ireland competed as the “Irish Free State” in 1934 and 1938 and then as Ireland in 1950.
Northern Ireland competed as “Ireland” in 1950.
Intercontinental Playoffs
In the ICP, four nations — which are divided equally into two paths — will compete in a semifinal round, with the winner from each path facing a nation that had qualified for the final round of the paths due to their higher rankings. Those two nations are DR Congo and Iraq.
The six nations have a combined total of six World Cup tournament appearances, half of which belong to Bolivia. DR Congo, Iraq and Jamaica each have one appearance, having participated in 1974, 1986 and 1998, respectively. New Caledonia and Suriname are both seeking their first World Cup tournament appearance.
Figure 3 shows the six ICP participants along with the number of WOrld Cup tournament appearances for each nation and their mos recent tournament appearances.
Note: New Caledonia and Suriname have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament
Comment which nations will fill the six vacant positions for the 2026 FIFA World Cup!
