Italy draw Northern Ireland in 2026 World Cup play-offs, all ties | OneFootball

Italy, four-time world champion, will face Northern Ireland in March in the European playoff semifinal for a spot in the 2026 World Cup, as determined by the draw held this Thursday at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

If victorious, the Italian team will decide their qualification for next year's World Cup with the winner of the other semifinal in Group A, between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the European playoffs, 16 teams will compete for the continent's last four spots in the World Cup.

(Photo: Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP)

Meanwhile, Ukraine will play the semifinal against Sweden in Group B, whose second finalist will emerge from the match between Poland and Albania. In Group C, the semifinals will be Turkey vs. Romania and Slovakia vs. Kosovo.

Denmark, which lost the direct spot in the last round of the qualifiers in a thrilling match against the qualified Scotland, will face North Macedonia. The Danes will face either the Czech Republic or Ireland in a potential final, both dreaming of returning to the tournament for the first time since 2006 and 2002, respectively.

International Playoff

This Thursday, the matchups for the intercontinental playoff were also drawn, which will determine two more spots for the 2026 World Cup.

In one of the semifinals, New Caledonia and Jamaica will face each other, and the winner will decide the qualification with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the other bracket, Iraq will await the winner of the match between Bolivia and Suriname.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.