The road to the 2026 World Cup is entering its final, decisive stage — with four spots up for grabs from UEFA’s playoffs to join this summer’s 48-team tournament.
World Cup giants Italy are joined by Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland — as well as 12 other nations eager to book their spot — as we reach the final stretch of qualifying.
But who will progress, how does it all work and how can you watch the games in the UK? ESPN has you covered.
Who has qualified for the European playoffs?
Sixteen teams will contest the European playoffs for the 2026 World Cup, offering a second-chance route to football’s most prestigious tournament via a unique knockout.
The lineup is made up of 12 runners-up from the World Cup qualifying group stage, plus four teams that earned places through their performances in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League — a safety net designed to reward consistent competitive results outside of traditional qualifying.
Runners-up: Slovakia, Kosovo, Denmark, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Wales, Albania and Czechia
UEFA Nations League qualifiers: Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia and Northern Ireland
The Nations League spots are allocated to the best-ranked group winners who did not finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying group.
Italy players celebrate after scoring a goal against Israel in World Cup qualifying. Getty ImagesHow does it work?
The teams are split into four separate paths, labelled A-D, each containing four teams. Each path follows the same format:
Two single-leg semifinals
One single-leg final
The winners of each path qualify for the World Cup — meaning just four of the 16 teams advance.
Higher-ranked teams host the semifinals, while the host of the finals were random and determined by November’s draw.
In short, though: win two one-off matches, and you’re at the World Cup.
What are the games?
Path A
Semifinal 1: Italy vs. Northern Ireland, Bergamo
Semifinal 2: Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cardiff
Final: Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Italy/Northern Ireland
Path B
Semifinal 3: Ukraine vs. Sweden, Valencia
Semifinal 4: Poland vs. Albania, Warsaw
Final: Ukraine/Sweden vs. Poland/Albania
Path C
Semifinal 5: Türkiye vs. Romania
Semifinal 6: Slovakia vs. Kosovo
Final: Slovakia/Kosovo vs Türkiye/Romania
Path D
Semifinal 7: Denmark vs. North Macedonia
Semifinal 8: Czechia vs. Republic of Ireland
Final: Czechia/Republic of Ireland vs. Denmark/North Macedonia
When are the games and how do I watch in the UK?
Seven of the eight semifinals are taking place on the same day, at the same time; Thursday, March 26 at 7.45 p.m. GMT. The exception is Türkiye vs. Romania, which starts at 5 p.m.
The only games confirmed to be on TV in the UK are Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy vs. Northern Ireland from Path A.
Wales-Bosnia and Herzegovina is on BBC Two and BBC One Wales, while Italy vs Northern Ireland is on BBC Three and BBC One NI. Both are also on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
The finals will all be on Tuesday, March 31 — again at 7.45 p.m. GMT.
Who are the favourites to progress?
Italy, the four-time World Cup winners aiming to avoid a catastrophic second tournament in a row, are the highest-ranked side in the playoffs and are therefore seen as favourites to qualify from Path A — needing to beat Northern Ireland and one of Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina to do so.
Poland and Ukraine both host semifinals from Path B and could have a very evenly matched final, while Türkiye and Denmark, on paper, are the picks of the bunch from Paths C and D.
Don’t rule out Ireland producing more magic in Czechia though, in which case they would host Denmark in a sure-to-be loud Path D final in Dublin.
What 2026 World Cup groups will teams end up in?
All playoff teams were seeded into Pot 4 for December’s World Cup draw, marking them as the lowest-ranked sides and ensuring they face higher-ranked opponents in the group stage.
The winner of each playoff path will join a specific group:
– Path A winner joins Group B with co-hosts Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland.
– Path B winner joins Group E alongside the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia.
– Path C winner joins Group C with co-hosts the USA, Paraguay, and Australia.
– Path D winner joins Group A with co-hosts Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea.
What other playoffs are taking place?
On top of the UEFA playoffs, there are also the interconfederation playoffs — where six countries will duke it out for two more World Cup spots.
Each of the five confederations (apart from UEFA) will provide one country, while the host confederation (Concacaf) receives a second slot.
1 – Africa (DR Congo)
1 – Asia (Iraq)
2 – Concacaf (Jamaica and Suriname)
1 – Oceania (New Caledonia)
1 – South America (Bolivia)
The two nations with the best FIFA World Ranking — DR Congo and Iraq — were seeded and will go straight into one of the two finals. The four other countries were drawn to play a semifinal, feeding through to play a seed for one of the two places at the World Cup.
Pathway 1
March 26
New Caledonia vs Jamaica, Guadalajara, 3 a.m. GMT (on March 27)
March 31
Winner vs DR Congo, Guadalajara, 10 p.m. GMT
Pathway 2
March 26
Bolivia vs Suriname, Guadalupe, 10 p.m. GMT
March 31
Winner vs. Iraq, Guadalupe, 4 a.m. GMT (on April 1)
The winners of Pathway 1 will go into Group K with Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia, while the winners of Pathway 2 will join France, Senegal and Norway in Group I.