Overview
- The playoff draw takes place on Thursday at 12 p.m. GMT to assign one-off semi-finals and the four mini-bracket pathways.
- UEFA’s 16-team field is split into four seeded pots, with pot 1 vs. pot 4 and pot 2 vs. pot 3 in single-match semis; pots 1 and 2 host, finals follow on March 31 after semi-finals on March 26, 2026.
- Wales are in pot 2 and will host a semi-final against a pot 3 opponent, with possible opponents listed as Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina or Kosovo.
- The Republic of Ireland are placed in pot 3 and will play away to a pot 2 side, drawn from Poland, Wales, Czechia or Slovakia.
- Northern Ireland qualified via the Nations League, are in pot 4 and will be away to a pot 1 team—Italy, Denmark, Turkey or Ukraine—with each mini-bracket appearing as a placeholder in the Dec. 5 group-stage draw at 5 p.m. GMT.