2026 WORLD CUP FOOTBALL

FIFA™ | United States of America, Canada & Mexico

2026 World Cup | Draw Play-offs Qualification

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The draw for the intercontinental playoff matches in the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying series will be held on a date that is yet to be determined. In this draw, six countries from around the different FIFA Zones will participate. Through the intercontinental World Cup football qualification play-offs, these nations get one last chance to qualify for the final round in North America. To be specific, the six participants compete for the last two (of 48) tickets.

Out of the six qualified countries, the four that are at that moment lowest in the FIFA Ranking, are linked by this World Cup football play-off draw. This results in the first two intercontinental play-off matches. The two winners then play against the two countries that (of those initial six) are highest in the FIFA Ranking. This again results in two matches. This mini tournament for final qualifications is on the agenda for March, 2026. Both winners of those last two games will gain access to the World Cup group stage.

Draw intercontinental World Cup football qualification play-offs

The FIFA members being part of the draw for the intercontinental World Cup 2026 qualification play-offs, will have a resit after the regular qualification phase. They come from five of the six FIFA confederations: AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), OFC (Oceania), CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean). The European confederation, UEFA, will have no representative at these intercontinental 2026 World Cup play-offs draw. CONCACAF, on the other hand, will be allowed to deliver two countries, as this FIFA continent will host the final round of the World Cup.

FIFA ZONENUMBER OF COUNTRIES INTERCONTINENTAL PLAY-OFFS DRAW | WORLD CUP
AFC1 | See also Asian qualifiers World Cup football
CONCACAF2 | See also North American, Central American, Caribbean qualifiers World Cup football
CONMEBOL1 | See also South American qualifiers World Cup football
OFC1 | See also Oceanian qualifiers World Cup football
CAF1 | See also African qualifiers World Cup football
UEFA0 | See also European qualifiers World Cup football

See also: Preliminary Draw Qualifying Zones.


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