The 2026 World Cup is now just a few months away and we’re down to the playoff stages when it comes to determining the final few teams to make it to next summer’s tournament.
England and Scotland have qualified automatically for the World Cup, due to be held in North America, but Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland still need to qualify through the playoffs.
These nations, along with the likes of Poland, Ukraine, Sweden and Turkey, have now learned their fate after the play-off draw made today.
Who will Wales and Northern Ireland face in the 2026 World Cup qualifier play-offs?
See below for the draw in full as Northern Ireland are handed a tough tie against Italy, while they could face Wales in the final if they beat their opponents Bosnia and Herzegovina…
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 Republic of Ireland
How do the 2026 World Cup play-offs work and when will they be played?
As you can see above, there are 16 teams vying to make it to the World Cup, and they are taking part in a series of eight semi-final matches, which will be decided over one leg.
The winners of those will then face the winner from the other game in their ‘path’, so we could for instance see the Republic of Ireland taking on Denmark in the final of Path D.
The winners of those four finals would then qualify for the World Cup next summer, joining those that have already qualified automatically.
The semi-final will be played on March 26th, with the finals a few days later on March 31st.
The 2026 World Cup then starts on June 11th and ends with the final on July 19th.
