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.
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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