Os draws that will organize the clashes of the two repechages for the 2026 World Cup take place this Thursday (11/20)starting at 9 am (Brasília time), in Zurich, Switzerland. The events will establish the world and European playoff duels.
Click no player below to watch everything live, on FIFA’s YouTube.
World Repechage: selections, format and rules
With the end of the Qualifiers, the repechage was divided into two distinct paths. In the global format, six teams will compete for two direct places in the World Cup. On the European path, 16 teams will fight for four places in the competition.
The 22 teams already qualified for these playoffs are now just waiting for their opponents to be defined. The first draw will be the world repechage, which brings together a team from South America, one from Asia, one from Africa, one from Oceania and two from North and Central America.
Teams in the world repechage:
- Oceania: New Caledonia
- South America: Bolivia
- Africa: DR Congo
- Asia: Iraq
- North and Central America: Jamaica and Suriname
Among the six teams involved, Congo e Iraq they will be seeded in the draw carried out by FIFA as they have the best position in the November ranking. The matches will take place in Mexico, at the Guadalajara and Monterrey stadiums – both of which will also host World Cup games.
The dispute will be divided into two paths. Bolivia, New Caledonia, Jamaica and Suriname will play two initial semi-finals, in March 26. Whoever wins each of them will face, in a single game, on the day March 31one of the top seeds. The two winners of these final clashes guarantee their presence in the World Cup.
MORE: 2026 World Cup: see the teams already classified
European playoff: selections, format and rules
Afterwards, the draw for the European playoff will be held. This stage will feature the 12 teams that finished second in their groups in the Qualifiers, in addition to the four best-placed Nations League division champions in the rankings.
Teams in the European playoff:
- Slovakia (Group A)
- Kosovo (Group B) Denmark (Group C)
- Ukraine (Group D)
- Türkiye (Group E)
- Ireland (Group F)
- Poland (Group G)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group H)
- Italy (Group I)
- Wales (Group J)
- Albania (Group K)
- Czech Republic (Group L)
- Sweden (Nations League)
- Romania (Nations League)
- Northern Ireland (Nations League)
- North Macedonia (Nations League)
For the European draw, the 16 teams were distributed into four pots:
- Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Türkiye, Ukraine
- Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia
- Pot 3: Albania, Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo
- Pot 4: Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland
Each path will have two semi-finals, held on March 26th:
- A duel between a representative of Bring 1 against one of Bring 4under the control of Pot 1.
- Another from a selection of Bring 2 and one of Bring 3with Pot 2 playing at home.
The winners of the semi-finals make the decision on the day March 31also in a single match. Whoever wins each final guarantees one of the four places allocated to Europe.
When will the World Cup group draw be?
O draw for the 2026 World Cup groups will take place on December 5, 2025, a Fridayin Washington DC, at the renowned John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, one of the most important cultural spaces in the United States.
As 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups with four teams eache and best two from each groupin addition to the eight best third-placedadvance to the knockout stage. In total, there will be 104 matchesand the champion will need to compete eight games to lift the trophy – one more than Argentina did in 2022, in Qatar.
Representatives of the classified teams, authorities, fans from the 16 host cities and professionals from the international press will be gathered to watch the ceremony that will reveal the group stage clashes of the tournament and the knockout paths.
The ceremony will begin at 12pm (local time) – 1pm in Brasília – and will be broadcast worldwide by FIFA’s media partners. The host teams will automatically occupy the following positions in the groups: Mexico (A1), Canada (B1) and the United States (D1).
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino highlighted the expectation for the draw:
– We are excited to hold the most anticipated final draw in World Cup history in the heart of American culture and entertainment. This event will mark another step towards the greatest sporting spectacle of all time.
MORE: World Cup: check out the debuting countries in 2026
