FIFA To Host Draws For World Cup Qualifying Playoffs In Zurich On November 20

FIFA World Cup 2026: FIFA will host draws on November 20 in Zurich for playoff brackets to decide the last six entries at the 48-team 2026 World Cup, the world soccer body said on Friday, November 7.

The European brackets will have 16 teams, likely including four-time champion Italy, playing for four places at the tournament next June and July in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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World Cup Qualifiers Play-Offs Set To Take Place From March 26

Six teams from outside Europe will play for two entries in the intercontinental playoffs that Mexico is expected to host. Bolivia and New Caledonia have already qualified.

All the playoff games are scheduled from March 26 to 31.

The six playoff slots will be placeholders coming out of the lowest-ranked pot 4 in the World Cup draw on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to attend.

FIFA said the playoff brackets will be seeded using the next men’s world rankings due to be published on November 19.

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European Playoffs To Involve Four Separate Brackets

The European playoffs will involve four separate brackets of four teams, playing single-game semifinals and finals. Teams enter by finishing runner-up in the 12 qualifying groups, plus four teams that won Nations League groups last year, which shape to include Wales and Sweden.

The 12 winners of European qualifying groups that finish on November 18, already including England, advance directly to the finals tournament.

The intercontinental playoffs see the four lowest-ranked teams paired in two single-game semifinals to advance to the finals against the two top-ranked teams.