The final two coveted spots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will be determined in the Inter-Confederation Playoffs, scheduled for March 26 and 31, 2026, in Mexico. Six teams from around the globe will participate in this tournament, vying for their place on the world's biggest stage.
Participating Teams
The six participating teams are:
- AFC (Asia): Iraq
- CAF (Africa): DR Congo
- CONCACAF (North America): Jamaica, Suriname
- CONMEBOL (South America): Bolivia
- OFC (Oceania): New Caledonia
Each confederation is represented by one team, except for CONCACAF, which has two representatives due to the host nation status of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Draw and Bracket
The draw for the Inter-Confederation Playoffs took place on November 20, 2025, at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The teams were seeded based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 19, 2025. The two highest-ranked teams, Iraq and DR Congo, were seeded directly into the final of each bracket. The remaining four teams were unseeded and drawn into the semi-final matches. To ensure fairness, the two CONCACAF teams, Jamaica and Suriname, were placed in separate paths.
The bracket is structured as follows:
Path A:
- Semi-final: New Caledonia vs. Jamaica
- Final: Winner of New Caledonia/Jamaica vs. DR Congo
Path B:
- Semi-final: Bolivia vs. Suriname
- Final: Winner of Bolivia/Suriname vs. Iraq
Schedule
The matches will be played in a single-leg knockout format. If the score remains level after regular time, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, and teams are allowed a sixth substitution. The schedule is as follows:
- March 26, 2026: Semi-final matches
- March 31, 2026: Play-off finals
The venues for the matches are in Mexico. Guadalajara and Monterrey were confirmed as the Host Cities on November 19, 2025. All times are local, CST (UTC−6).
Significance
These playoffs represent the last chance for these six nations to qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup. The two winners will join the 46 teams that have already secured their spots in the tournament. The inter-confederation play-off tournament serves as a preparatory event for the World Cup.
UEFA Play-offs
In addition to the inter-confederation play-offs, UEFA will also hold its own play-offs to determine the final four European qualifiers for the World Cup. Sixteen teams will compete in four paths, with the semi-finals on March 26 and finals on March 31. Teams such as Italy, Republic of Ireland, and Denmark are headlining the UEFA play-offs.
