Playoff drama awaits as six tickets left for 2026 World Cup

With 42 teams punching their tickets after the final wave of direct qualifiers, the race to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has boiled down to six last spots -- four in Europe and two across the rest of the world. The continent playoffs now stand between 22 hopeful nations and football's grandest stage, setting up a tense March window in Europe and an intriguing intercontinental showdown involving teams from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.

European playoffs: 16 teams, 4 spots

The final four UEFA berths will be decided through the play-offs in March, involving 16 teams -- 12 group runners-up from the standard qualifying phase alongside the best four UEFA Nations League group winners.

The teams will be divided into four playoff paths and four pots of four teams each, with the 12 group runners-up in three pots and the four other teams in the fourth pot. Each of the four paths will comprise two single-leg semifinals and one single-leg final. The teams for the paths will be drawn later on Thursday (11:00 pm Bangladesh time)

The semifinals will be played on March 26 and the finals on March 31.

European play-off teams: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Turkiye, Ukraine, Wales, Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia

Intercontinental playoffs: 5 regions, 2 places

Beyond Europe, six nations from four confederations will battle for the final two non-European World Cup berths.

The top two seeds -- Iraq and DR Congo -- have earned direct passage into the two finals. The remaining four teams will contest two semifinals to earn the right to meet the seeded sides for a spot at the World Cup.

The fixture schedule for the intercontinental playoffs has not yet been confirmed.

Intercontinental playoff teams: Bolivia, DR Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname

Teams already qualified for the 2026 World Cup:

Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Africa (9): Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia (8): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Europe (12): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

Oceania (1): New Zealand

Americas (9): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Curacao, Panama, Haiti.