A grand total of 48 nations will participate in the upcoming World Cup, hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
As it stands, 42 of these slots have been secured through the individual qualification routes of each confederation, which means that six more opportunities to compete in the World Cup are still up for grabs.
When are the World Cup qualification play-offs for UEFA sides and how do they function?
The play-offs will consist of four distinct semi-final and final pairings, all of which are scheduled to take place during the March international break. The semi-final matches are currently slated for Thursday, March 26, while the finals are set to occur on Monday, March 31.
The 16 teams participating in the play-offs include those that secured second place in their respective qualifying groups, in addition to the four highest-performing teams from the most recent Nations League round.
These teams were divided into three tiers based on their FIFA world rankings, with a fourth pot comprising the four teams that qualified through the Nations League.
Subsequently, the 16 teams were organized into four pathways, each featuring eight one-off semi-final matches. The winners of each semi-final will proceed to their respective final (one for each pathway). Teams drawn from pots 1 and 2 will have the advantage of playing their semi-final matches on home ground.
The draw results are presented below, with an asterisk (*) indicating that the victor will serve as the host for that particular path’s final match.
- Path A
- Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina*
- Italy vs Northern Ireland
- Path B
- Ukraine vs Sweden*
- Poland vs Albania
- Path C
- Slovakia vs Kosovo*
- Turkey vs Romania
- Path D
- Czech Republic vs Republic of Ireland*
- Denmark vs North Macedonia
When will the inter-confederation World Cup qualification play-offs take place?
The inter-confederation play-offs are also scheduled to coincide with the March international break, although specific dates have not yet been finalized. All matches will be held in Mexico, taking place at Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron and Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA, though the exact locations for each game are still to be determined.
Six teams will be in contention in the inter-confederation play-offs. The AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONMEBOL (South America), and OFC (Oceania) are each represented by a single team, while CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) will contribute two teams.
These teams are divided into two pathways, with the winner of each pathway securing qualification for the World Cup. The two highest-ranked teams will directly advance to the two finals – namely DR Congo and Iraq – while the remaining four teams will participate in a single semi-final match within their respective pathways.
The pathway assignments have been determined as follows:
- Path A
- New Caledonia vs Jamaica
- The victor will then face DR Congo in the Path A final
- New Caledonia vs Jamaica
- Path B
- Bolivia vs Suriname
- The victor will then face Iraq in the Path B final
- Bolivia vs Suriname
Which countries have already qualified for the World Cup tournament?
The four victors from the UEFA play-offs, in addition to the two victors from the inter-confederation play-offs, will be joining the following nations at the World Cup in the upcoming year:
- Hosts
- Canada
- Mexico
- United States
- AFC
- Australia
- Iran
- Japan
- Jordan
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- South Korea
- Uzbekistan
- CAF
- Algeria
- Cape Verde
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Morocco
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tunisia
- CONCACAF
- CONMEBOL
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
- OFC
- UEFA
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- England
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Scotland
- Spain
- Switzerland
