MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The final six World Cup places are up for grabs over the next week across two playoff tournaments that will complete the 48-team lineup.
Sixteen teams from Europe will compete for four spots, while a new intercontinental tournament staged in Mexico will determine the other two places.
The biggest ever World Cup — up from 32 teams in Qatar in 2022 — is being co-hosted by three nations for the first time: The United States, Canada and Mexico.
Four-time champion Italy is the standout name in the European playoffs as it tries to avoid the ignominy of missing out on a World Cup for a third consecutive time.
“It’s undeniable that there’s nervousness,” coach Gennaro Gattuso said. “Only someone without blood running through their veins wouldn’t feel it."
New Caledonia, Suriname, Kosovo and Albania are all vying to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
There will be more European teams than from any other continent at the World Cup: 16.
Twelve have already booked their places and the final four will advance via the playoffs.
Eight one-off semifinals are followed by four finals. The winners of the finals secure qualification.
The teams are made up of 12 runners-up from the group qualifying stage and four based on performances in the UEFA Nations League.
The highest-ranked teams host the semifinals. The hosts of the finals were determined by draw.
Path A: Italy vs. Northern Ireland, Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Path B: Ukraine vs. Sweden, Poland vs. Albania.
Path C: Turkey vs. Romania, Slovakia vs. Kosovo.
Path D: Denmark vs. North Macedonia, Czech Republic vs. Ireland
There is a different format for the intercontinental playoffs, which FIFA simply calls the Playoff Tournament.
Two teams will advance from a field of six.
The lineup was made up of two teams from CONCACAF (Jamaica, Suriname) and one each from Asia (Iraq), Africa (DR Congo), South America (Bolivia) and Oceania (New Caledonia).
The four lowest-ranked nations play in two semifinals. The winner advances to a final against one of the two highest-ranked teams. The winners of those matches qualify for the World Cup.
The highest ranked teams were DR Congo and Iraq.
Games are being staged in Guadalajara and Monterrey
Path 1: New Caledonia vs. Jamaica (winner plays DR Congo)
Path 2: Bolivia vs. Suriname (winner plays Iraq)
The semifinals will be played on Thursday and the finals next Tuesday.
Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico and United States.
AFC: Australia, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
CAF: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
CONCACAF: Curacao, Haiti, Panama
CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
OFC: New Zealand
UEFA: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
June and July. It kicks off at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on June 11. The final is on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, which will be referred to as New York New Jersey Stadium during the tournament.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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