As of Tuesday, November 18, all participants in the European qualifying playoffs and all opponents in the intercontinental playoff matches for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the summer of 2026 in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, have been determined.
In Europe, the battle for the spots will continue with 12 teams that finished second in their groups — Slovakia, Kosovo, Denmark, Ukraine, Turkey, Ireland, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Wales, Albania, Czech Republic, as well as four group winners from the Nations League — Northern Ireland, Sweden, Romania, and North Macedonia. All these teams will compete for four spots in the final tournament.
For the last two spots for the 2026 World Cup, contested outside the confederation qualifying tournaments, Iraq, DR Congo, Jamaica, Bolivia, Suriname, and New Caledonia will compete.
The two highest-ranked teams according to the FIFA rankings from this group of six — Iraq and DR Congo — will play directly in the finals. The other four participants will start from the semifinals, needing to go through two stages to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
All playoff matches will take place in Mexico — in Guadalajara and Monterrey. The draw for the intercontinental playoffs and the European qualifying playoffs is scheduled for November 20.
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