Whilst 42 out of the 48 nations taking part in the 2026 World Cup are now confirmed, the action isn't stopping, with the spotlight now shifting towards the final stage of qualification. The European and Inter-Confederation play-offs are set to take place in March 2026 and will determine the remaining six nations going to North America. The teams who have qualified so far are as follows:

Asian Football Confederation: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
North America: Curacao, Haiti, Panama, Canada, Mexico, United States
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
Oceania: New Zealand
Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

The draw for the play-offs took place on November 20th in Zurich, determining who will face who in each bracket. Following this, a second draw will be held on December 5th for the World Cup group stage.

Sixteen nations are set to take part in the European play-offs, including runners-up from the qualifiers as well as the four best-placed Nations League winners. They will take part in eight semi-final games set to be played between Paths A-D in March 2026 with the winners advancing to the finals on March 31st. Path A features Italy going up against Northern Ireland, and Wales playing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Path B is made up of Ukraine facing off against Sweden and Poland being pitted against Albania. In Path C, Turkey plays Romania, and Slovakia meets Kosovo. And in Path D Denmark will clash with North Macedonia and the Czech Republic will go head-to-head with Ireland. Once the finals have concluded, the winners will be given their last-minute lifeline to play on the world’s grandest stage.

Meanwhile in the Inter-Confederation play-offs, six teams from the non-European football confederations will battle it out for the 2 remaining  World Cup spots. This will be held in Mexico, through 2 semi-finals scheduled for March 26th with the winners advancing to the finals on March 31st. New Caledonia will meet Jamaica in the semi-final. The winner of this encounter is then set to play Congo in the first final. In the second semi-final, Bolivia will meet Suriname and the winner will battle Iraq for one of two remaining World Cup spots.

These play-offs are the ultimate test for the remaining teams, putting them under immense pressure where the stakes are higher than ever and the margin for error is zero. Upon their conclusion, the group stage will commence on June 11th, marking the start of one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to witness these nations battle it out for the chance to play at the highest level. Purchase your tickets for the European and Inter-Confederation play-offs with TicketKosta through our secure online booking system and experience this exciting prelude to the 2026 World Cup live!