The draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-Off Tournament, in which six teams will fight it out for two places at next year’s global finals, has taken place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich.
The Play-Off Tournament will feature two finals, in which the winners of the semi-finals contested by the unseeded teams will face the two seeded teams, with the nations that prevail in the finals securing their spots at the FIFA World Cup 2026. The four lowest-ranked nations in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname – were unseeded and meet in bracket semi-finals, while the two highest-ranked teams – Congo DR and Iraq – were seeded and go directly into the finals.
Pathway 1
New Caledonia v Jamaica
New Caledonia/Jamaica v Congo DR
Pathway 2
Bolivia v Suriname
Bolivia/Suriname v Iraq
The draw was presented by Melanie Winiger and conducted by Chief Tournament Officer (USA) Manolo Zubiria, with Christian Karembeu, Marco Materazzi and Martin Dahlin serving as assistants, and was followed by the European Play-Off Draw.
European Play-Off Draw results
The Play-Off Tournament, which involves two teams from Concacaf and one team apiece from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC, will take place in March 2026 during the the international fixture window which runs from 23 to 31 March. It was confirmed on 19 November 2025 that Guadalajara and Monterrey had been selected as the Play-Off Tournament’s Host Cities.
The two winners, along with the four teams that emerge from the European Play-Offs, will join the 42 nations already assured of their FIFA World Cup spots.
