Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, and Slovakia will play at home in the first playoff round as they are seeded in the first two pots due to their higher FIFA ranking.
The draw also determined the path for the eight teams that will advance to the four finals. If Italy beats Northern Ireland, they will face the winner of the Wales-Bosnia match, as the away team. The 'Azzurra' squad, coached by Gennaro Gattuso, is playing in the playoffs for the third consecutive time, having been eliminated by Sweden in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and by North Macedonia in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Italy's last World Cup appearance was in 2014 in Brazil.
The winner of the Poland-Albania match will face the winner of the Ukraine-Sweden match, which will have the home advantage in the final. If Turkey eliminates Romania, they will play away for a World Cup ticket against the winner of the Slovakia-Kosovo match.
Italy vs. Northern Ireland, Poland vs. Albania, and Turkey vs. Romania are the standout matchups of the first single-leg playoff round for the European World Cup 2026 qualifiers, which will grant four spots. The draw held on Thursday at FIFA headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland) also set the other playoffs for the remaining ten European teams: Ukraine vs. Sweden, Slovakia vs. Kosovo, Czech Republic vs. Ireland, Denmark vs. North Macedonia, and Wales vs. Bosnia.
The eight winners of the first round will be paired into four finals, also single matches, to decide the four spots for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The initial playoff round will be played from March 26 of next year, with the four finals taking place five days later on March 31.
The winner of the Denmark vs. North Macedonia match will also play away, facing the team that advances from the Czechs vs. Irish duel.
Of the sixteen European teams in the playoffs, twelve are the runners-up from their qualification groups, and four—Sweden, Romania, North Macedonia, and Northern Ireland—come from the Nations League.
In addition to the four remaining spots for Europe, there are two spots for teams from other continents. These are contested by Bolivia, Suriname, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bolivian team will face Suriname, a former Dutch colony located north of Brazil. The winner of that match will face Iraq, who await directly in the final, just like the Congo, who will face the winner between Jamaica and New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the South Pacific that is aspiring to its first World Cup appearance.
The six teams that secure a spot in the playoffs will complete the 48 teams that will play in the 2026 World Cup, the largest to date. The group stage draw for the tournament is scheduled for next December 5 in Washington.
Quote: "The eight winners of the first round will be paired into four finals, also single matches, to decide the four spots for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada."
