Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland are among 16 teams to reach the mini-tournament, which will take place in March.
The group’s twelve runners-up will be joined by the four top-ranked winners of the UEFA Nations League section, who have not yet qualified.
They will all compete for the last four European spots. The play-offs consist of a semi-final and a final, with each round being a single leg.
Each team will be divided into four pots, and the teams in pots one and two will be seeded and play their semi-finals at home. The four teams in Pot One will be drawn against the teams in Pot Four, while the teams in Pot Two will be drawn against Pot Three countries.
Which UEFA countries are participating in the FIFA World Cup play-offs?
Note: These pots are based on the current FIFA World Rankings and may change after the rankings are updated on Wednesday.
Pot 1: Denmark, Italy, Türkiye, Slovakia
Pot 2: Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Wales
Pot 3: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Ireland
Pot 4: North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Romania, Sweden
Read – Scotland seals World Cup berth, Wales heading for play-offs
When is the draw for the play-offs?
The draw for the World Cup play-off will take place on Thursday, November 20 at 12 noon at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.
When do the play-offs take place?
The semi-finals will be played on Thursday, March 26 and the finals will be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
When is the draw for the Football World Cup?
The draw for the actual World Cup will take place before the play-offs, on December 5.
Read – Five of the greatest footballers who have never played in a World Cup
See also – When are the World Cup qualifying play-offs?
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