Overview
- Intercontinental semifinals will pair New Caledonia with Jamaica and Bolivia with Surinam, with DR Congo and Iraq seeded directly into the respective finals based on FIFA rankings.
- All intercontinental matches are scheduled for March 23–31, 2026 in Mexico, split between Monterrey and Guadalajara as host cities.
- UEFA’s playoff features four routes with single-leg semifinals on March 26 and finals on March 31 to decide four European qualifiers.
- Key UEFA semifinals include Italy vs Northern Ireland, Ukraine vs Sweden, Poland vs Albania, Turkey vs Romania, Denmark vs North Macedonia, Czech Republic vs Ireland, Wales vs Bosnia, and Slovakia vs Kosovo.
- The six playoff winners will finalize the World Cup field ahead of FIFA’s group draw, set for December 5, 2025 in Washington, D.C.