2026 World Cup playoffs explained: 6 spots up for grabs, teams involved and how to watch

The final six places in the2026 World Cupwill be determined over the next week as part of the qualification playoffs.

The FIFA playoffs will feature New Caledonia, Jamaica, DR Congo, Bolivia, Suriname, and Iraq. The six teams play a tournament-style format to determine two of the qualifiers.

DR Congo and Iraq are the top two seeds, which allows them to advance directly to their respective pathway's final.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season

The UEFA playoffs will feature Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Albania, Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia, Kosovo, Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia, and Ireland. The 16 European teams will be part of a mini-bracket featuring a semifinal and final for each individual path.

Opening playoff games will take place Thursday and the final day of the playoff qualifiers will be held Tuesday, March 31.

In the FIFA playoff, the 12 nations taking part in the UEFA playoffs have been draw into four separate paths. Each pathway features two semifinals and one final. Each match is single elimination.

The six qualifiers out of these playoffs will join the48-team fieldfor this summer's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

2026 World Cup playoff schedule

Pathway 1

• March 26, 2026: New Caledonia vs. Jamaica - 10 p.m. ET (FS1)

• March 31, 2026: DR Congo vs. New Caledonia/Jamaica winner - 5 p.m. ET (FS1)

The winner of Pathway 1 will be a part ofGroup Kwith Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia.

Pathway 2

• March 26, 2026: Bolivia vs. Suriname - 7 p.m. ET (FS1)

• March 31, 2026: Iraq vs. Bolivia/Suriname winner - 11 p.m. ET (FS1)

The winner of Pathway 2 will be a part ofGroup Iwith France, Senegal and Norway.

UEFA Path A bracket

• March 26, 2026: Italy vs. Northern Ireland – 3:45 p.m. ET

• March 26, 2026: Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina – 3:45 p.m. ET (FS1)

• March 31, 2026: Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina winner vs. Italy/Northern Ireland winner – 3:45 p.m. ET

The winner of UEFA Path A will be a part ofGroup Bwith Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

UEFA Path B bracket

• March 26, 2026: Ukraine vs. Sweden – 3:45 p.m. ET

• March 26, 2026: Poland vs. Albania – 3:45 p.m. ET (FS2)

• March 31, 2026: Ukraine/Sweden winner vs. Poland/Albania winner – 3:45 p.m. ET

The winner of UEFA Path B will be a part ofGroup Fwith the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia.

UEFA Path C bracket

• March 26, 2026: Türkiye vs. Romania – 1 p.m. ET (FS2)

• March 26, 2026: Slovakia vs. Kosovo – 3:45 p.m. ET

• March 31, 2026: Slovakia/Kosovo winner vs. Türkiye/Romania winner – 3:45 p.m. ET

The winner of UEFA Path C will be a part ofGroup Dwith the United States, Paraguay and Australia.

UEFA Path D bracket

• March 26, 2026: Denmark vs. North Macedonia – 3:45 p.m. ET

• March 26, 2026: Czechia vs. Ireland – 3:45 p.m. ET

• March 31, 2026: Czechia/Ireland winner vs. Denmark/North Macedonia winner – 3:45 p.m. ET

The winner of UEFA Path D will be a part ofGroup Awith Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.

Complete 2026 World Cup schedule featuring match dates and start times

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

March 24, 2026

2026 World Cup playoffs explained: 6 spots up for grabs, teams involved and how to watch

The final six places in the2026 World Cupwill be determined over the next week as part of the qualification playoffs. ...

Read More

Video shows smoke billowing after Valero refinery explosion

An explosion at a Texas oil refinery forced residents to shelter in place.

On Monday, March 23, an explosion at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery was reported, according to a post on theCity of Port Arthur's Facebook.Port Arthur, Texas, is a city located around 90 miles east of Houston.

"Nobody's hurt, thank God for that," said Port Arthur Mayor Charlotte Moses during aFacebook livestream.

Video shows moments after the explosion, when smoke plumes billowed into the sky. The cause of the explosion has not been made public yet.

USA TODAY has contacted Valero Energy and the Port Arthur Fire Department for more information.

Watch the aftermath of the explosion

A man makes his way through debris at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 6, 2026.
Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Displaced residents who fled Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs sit along the corniche waterfront in the Lebanese capital on March 6, 2026. Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiraled rapidly throughout the region and beyond.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Israel air strikes pound Beirut as Middle East attacks escalate

A man makes his way through debris at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 6, 2026.Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in theMiddle East warthat has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond.

Residents asked to shelter in place

Firefighters were on the scene, working to extinguish the resulting fire, when Moses made her announcement during a live stream.

Advertisement

Several areas were placed under a shelter-in-place order after the explosion to ensure public safety until emergency personnel gave the "all clear."

More news:Multiple people injured after floor collapsed at NH wedding venue

Explosion comes as gas prices are up

The explosion comes as fuel costs have gone up because of theUnited States and Israel's war with Iran, according to USA TODAY's previous reporting.

As of Tuesday, March 24, the national average was$3.97 a gallon, according to AAA. Just a month ago, the average was $2.95.

The refinery processed about 435,000 barrels of oil each day and turned heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, according to Valero's website.

Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers popular toys, scientific studies, natural disasters, holidays, and trending news. Connect with her onLinkedIn,X,Instagram, andTikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Smoke seen after Valero oil refinery explosion in Port Arthur, Texas

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

March 24, 2026

Video shows smoke billowing after Valero refinery explosion

An explosion at a Texas oil refinery forced residents to shelter in place. On Monday, March 23, an explosion a...

Read More

US detainee Dennis Coyle released by Taliban in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON − Colorado researcher Dennis Coyle is on his way home from Afghanistan after spending more than a year in Taliban captivity, the U.S. government said on March 24.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Coyle's release in a statement.

The Afghan Taliban government said earlier on on March 24 that it had decided to release Coyle in response to a request from his mother.

"The foreign minister said that after a letter from the detainee's family ... theSupreme Court... deemed the period of his detention sufficient and decided to release him," the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

Coyle, a resident of Pueblo, Colorado, was detained in January 2025 while in Afghanistan conducting research on Afghan languages,according to the Pueblo Chieftain, part of the USA TODAY Network.

More:Pueblo man's family fighting to bring him home from Taliban captivity

Afghanistan: America's longest war

"While this is a positive step by the Taliban, more work needs to be done," Rubio said. "The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy."

Advertisement

The State Department accused the Taliban of using "terrorist tactics to seek policy concessions" andofficially declaredAfghanistan a state sponsor of wrongful detention on March 9.

The U.S. government is seeking the release of at least two other Americans in Afghanistan: freelance author Paul Overby, who has been missing since May of 2014; and Mahmood Habibi,an Afghan-born U.S. citizenandthe former director of civil aviationin Afghanistan. The U.S. says Habibi was arrested by the Taliban in August of 2022 while working for a Kabul-based telecommunications company.

In a statement, Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents Pueblo, thanked Rubio and PresidentDonald Trumpfor their work on Coyle's case. "My office will continue working to bring Dennis home safely to his family. No American should be unjustly detained abroad," Hurdwrote on X.

Rubio said in his statement that the United Arab Emirates helped to secure Coyle's release. Qatar has also advocated for the release of Americans in Afghanistan, the U.S. secretary of state said.

According to the State Department, more than 100 Americans who it says have been unjustly detained have been released in Trump's second term.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dennis Coyle released after being held by Taliban in Afghanistan

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

March 24, 2026

US detainee Dennis Coyle released by Taliban in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON − Colorado researcher Dennis Coyle is on his way home from Afghanistan after spending more than a year in Tali...

Read More

Tiger Woods will return to competition in final night of TGL, Masters return uncertain

Tiger Woods is back! Well … sort of. The 15-time major winner will tee it up for his Jupiter Links Golf Club on the final night of the TGL indoor golf league on Tuesday night.

Perhaps it's a one-off appearance to give Woods a taste of competition and juice TGL's ratings. Perhaps it's a foreshadowing of something more, with the Masters set to start in two weeks.

"I've been trying to come back. But it just hasn't worked out that way," Woods said last week. "I've had a bad run of injuries last year. I think it's been a year and a few days since I blew out my Achilles. And so then I've had two back operations. So it's been a little rough go."

Woods hasn't played a competitive round of golf on the PGA Tour since the 2024 Open Championship some 20 months ago, and hasn't played in TGL in more than a year. He's undergone an array of surgeries in his career, most recently on his back in October, that have slowed his return to outdoor golf.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season

Advertisement

"Disc replacement is not a lot of fun," Woods added. "The body doesn't quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn't quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it's hard to just to move around."

With all due respect to the TGL, the golf world's focus is on the Masters, which begins two weeks from Thursday. Woods, a five-time Masters champion, hasn't said whether he's competing at Augusta National yet. The Masters remains the only major in which Woods has even made a cut since 2020.

Outdoor golf will obviously pose far more of a challenge to Woods than TGL, where he only needs to walk a few yards from the tee box and simulator screen to the real-world green on every hole. The hills of Augusta National in particular are likely to pose a challenge to Woods' repaired back and Achilles, should he opt to play.

In terms of the TGL, Woods is coming in at the last possible moment. Jupiter Links is down one match in the best-of-three championship series against L.A. Golf Club. The Jupiter Links Golf Club team includes Woods, Max Homa and Tom Kim; Woods will take Kevin Kisner's spot. LAGC's team includes Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala.

Woods' return begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. If Jupiter Links wins that match, the final winner-take-all match will start at 9 p.m. For golf fans, Woods just made it a must-watch event.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

March 24, 2026

Tiger Woods will return to competition in final night of TGL, Masters return uncertain

Tiger Woods is back! Well … sort of. The 15-time major winner will tee it up for his Jupiter Links Golf Club on the final...

Read More

March Madness bracket predictions redo: Revised Final Four picks ahead of Sweet 16

OK, soFlorida's loss to Iowahad a lot of us crumbling upour brackets.

The defending champions were a popular pick to repeat. But the No. 1 seeded Gators werehit with a second-round Hawkeyes dagger, leading many looking for a mulligan on theFinal Four predictions.

Sweet 16 predictions:Experts pick who will advance in March Madness bracket

How'd we do? Grading our brackets:Revisiting our March Madness predictions

So let's give this another try. Here are USA TODAY Sports staff's updated Final Four picks.

Advertisement

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Nebraska's Berke Buyuktuncel celebrates with fans following a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on March 21, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders in the second half against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Ore.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A Texas Christian University Horned Frogs cheerleader practices before the game during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournamentat Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

Final Four predictions: Who will win Sweet 16, Elite 8?

• East: Duke

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Illinois

• West: Arizona

Blake Toppmeyer

• East: Michigan State

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arizona

Paul Myerberg

• East: St. John's

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arizona

Craig Meyer

• East: UConn

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arkansas

John Leuzzi

• East: Duke

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arizona

Ehsan Kassim

• East: Duke

• Midwest: Alabama

• South: Illinois

• West: Arkansas

How sweet it is. Sixteen teams remain in the March Madness 2026 tournament. Here are some top players and matchups to watch.
No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue Texas: Matas Vokietaitis

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2
Purdue Purdue: Braden Smith

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
Iowa: Bennett Stirtz

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
Nebraska: Pryce Sandfort

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
Arkansas: Darius Acuff Jr.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
Arizona: Brayden Burries

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston
Illinois: Keaton Wagler

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston
Houston: Emanuel Sharp

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke
St. John's: Zuby Ejiofor

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke
Duke: Cameron Boozer

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan
Alabama: Labaron Philon Jr.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan
Michigan: Yaxel Lendeborg

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Michgan State vs. No. 2 UConn
Michigan State: Jeremy Fears Jr. (1)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Michgan State vs. No. 2 UConn
UConn: Alex Karaban

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State
Tennessee: Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State
Iowa State: Milan Momcilovic

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Men's Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

How sweet it is. Sixteen teams remain in theMarch Madness 2026tournament. Here are some top players and matchups to watch.No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 PurdueTexas: Matas Vokietaitis

Who is favorite to win March Madness? NCAA championship odds heading into Sweet 16

Here's a look at theupdated championship oddsfor the 16 teams remaining.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Final Four picks: Rethinking our March Madness predictions ahead of Sweet 16

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

March 24, 2026

March Madness bracket predictions redo: Revised Final Four picks ahead of Sweet 16

OK, soFlorida's loss to Iowahad a lot of us crumbling upour brackets. The defending champions were a popul...

Read More