6️⃣ Six spots up for grabs! How the two Copa play-offs work | OneFootball

The World Cup Qualifiers have come to an end on all continents! 

Now, there will be 22 teams competing in two playoffs starting in March to determine the six remaining spots for the 2026 World Cup.

Check out how everything will work below!

European Playoff

Europe will have 16 teams vying for four spots.

Who is in the playoff

Via Qualifiers: Italy, Albania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Kosovo, Bosnia, Wales, and Denmark.

Via Nations League: Northern Ireland, Sweden, Romania, and North Macedonia.

How it works

FIFA will hold a draw this Thursday (20th) at 9 AM (Brasília time), distributing the teams into four pots, with four teams each.

Four knockout paths will be formed, with single-match semifinals and finals:

The four teams that win their paths secure a spot in the World Cup.

Pots

Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, and Ukraine

Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, and Slovakia

Pot 3: Ireland, Albania, Bosnia, and Kosovo

Pot 4: Northern Ireland, Romania, Sweden, and North Macedonia

Intercontinental Playoff

The other playoff brings together six teams from different confederations competing for two spots.

Qualified Teams

Bolivia (CONMEBOL) New Caledonia (Oceania) Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa) Iraq (Asia) Suriname (CONCACAF) Jamaica (CONCACAF)

Iraq and DR Congo will start directly in the finals due to their higher FIFA ranking.

How the draw will work

FIFA will draw two brackets this Thursday. Suriname and Jamaica cannot face each other in the semifinals as they are from the same confederation.

The semifinals and finals, all in single matches, will be held in Mexico, one of the World Cup hosts.

Possible Paths

Semifinals:

Finals:

The two teams that win the final secure a spot in the World Cup.

Who is already qualified

Hosts

Canada, United States, and Mexico

Africa (9)

South Africa, Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia

South America (6)

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Central and North America (3)

Curaçao, Haiti, Panama

Asia (8)

Saudi Arabia, Australia*, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, and Uzbekistan

Europe (12)

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Scotland, Spain, France, Netherlands, England, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland

Oceania (1)

New Zealand

*Australia is affiliated with the AFC but geographically belongs to Oceania.

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

📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors