![\"World](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/world-cup-trophy-1668114607-96164.jpg\" "\\"World")
<\/p>\nEverything you need to know\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n \u00a9IMAGO\n <\/p>\n
Nations vying to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> this summer will learn their fate in the coming days, with more places up for grabs in the European play-offs<\/a> and beyond.<\/p>\n The World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams for the first time in the tournament’s history, offering an additional 16 teams a potential pathway to the tri-nation spectacle across the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n The final step remaining in terms of deciding which six teams will join those already qualified will be determined in the coming days in the World Cup playoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Which teams have qualified for the FIFA World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are the 42 nations that have already secured their place in the World Cup through each association’s respective qualifying phase:<\/p>\n Co-hosts:<\/strong> Canada, Mexico, United States.<\/p>\n AFC:<\/strong> Australia, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n CAF:<\/strong> Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia.<\/p>\n CONCACAF:<\/strong> Cura\u00e7ao, Haiti, Panama.<\/p>\n CONMEBOL:<\/strong> Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.<\/p>\n OFC:<\/strong> New Zealand.<\/p>\n UEFA:<\/strong> Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland<\/p>\n Which FIFA World Cup spots are yet to be claimed?<\/strong><\/p>\n Four spots will be claimed by European nations, with the remaining two emerging from a new intercontinental tournament hosted in Mexico. The format involves eight one-off semi-finals, followed by four decisive finals, with the winners progressing.<\/p>\n The teams comprise of 12 group qualifying runners-up and four based on UEFA Nations League performances. The highest-ranked teams will host the semi-finals, while the final hosts were determined by a draw. Here are the European playoff paths:<\/p>\n Path A: Italy<\/a> vs Northern Ireland<\/a>, Wales<\/a> vs Bosnia-Herzegovina<\/a><\/p>\n Path B: Ukraine<\/a> vs Sweden<\/a>, Poland<\/a> vs Albania<\/a><\/p>\n Path C: T\u00fcrkiye<\/a> vs Slovakia<\/a> or Kosovo<\/a><\/p>\n Path D: Denmark<\/a> vs North Macedonia<\/a>, Czech Republic<\/a> vs Republic of Ireland<\/a><\/p>\n \nHow the intercontinental playoff works<\/strong><\/p>\n An altered format has been put in place for the intercontinental playoffs, which is officially recognised as the FIFA Play-off Tournament, where two teams will emerge from a field of six.<\/p>\n The lineup features two teams from CONCACAF (Jamaica, Suriname), and one each from Asia (Iraq), Africa (DR Congo), South America (Bolivia), and Oceania (New Caledonia).<\/p>\n The four lowest-ranked nations compete in two semi-finals, with victors advancing to face one of the two highest-ranked teams (DR Congo and Iraq) in a final.<\/p>\n Path 1: New Caledonia<\/a> vs Jamaica<\/a> (winner to play DR Congo<\/a>)<\/p>\n Path 2: Bolivia<\/a> vs Suriname<\/a> (winner to play Iraq<\/a>)<\/p>\n \nWhen are the FIFA World Cup play-off finals?<\/strong><\/p>\n The play-off semi-finals were played on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The play-off finals take place on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.<\/p>\n Here are the fixtures and results so far:<\/p>\n Path A: Italy vs Northern Ireland, Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/p>\n Path B: Ukraine vs Sweden, Poland vs Albania<\/p>\n![\"Uefa](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/uefa-bracket-playoffs2-1774553448-193164.jpg\" "\\"Uefa")
<\/p>\n![\"Inter-confederation](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/intercontinental-playoffs-1774553475-193165.jpg\" "\\"Inter-confederation")
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