FIFA WORLD CUP Italy face N Ireland in playoff semi-finals in bid to end qualifying jinx
ZURICH: Four-times world champions Italy will host Northern Ireland while Wales welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off semi-finals. The winners will meet in the final for a place at next year’s World Cup, with the winners of Wales’ match at home.
Italy, absent from the last two World Cups, finished as only runners-up in their group after being beaten home and away by Erling Haaland’s Norway.
Republic of Ireland travel to the Czech Republic, with a potential home final against Denmark or North Macedonia. The single-leg semi-finals will take place on March 26 and the finals on March 31.
Sixteen teams are competing for four spots at the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.
In the draw, which took place in Switzerland, pot one teams – the top seeds – were drawn at home to pot four teams, while pot two teams hosted pot three teams.
Sides were also placed in paths deciding who they would play in the final and who would be at home. The draw for the World Cup will take place on 5 December in Washington DC.
European play-off draw
Path A
Italy v Northern Ireland
Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina*
Path B
Ukraine v Sweden*
Poland v Albania
Path C
Turkey v Romania
Slovakia v Kosovo*
Path D
Denmark v North Macedonia
Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland*
*The winners of this tie will host the final
FIFA statement:
Following the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-Off Tournament staged at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, the match schedule for the tournament has been confirmed.
Guadalajara Stadium and Monterrey Stadium will stage two matches each during the tournament, with Guadalajara hosting play-off pathway 1 featuring New Caledonia, Jamaica and Congo DR and Monterrey hosting play-off pathway 2 involving Bolivia, Suriname and Iraq.
The semi-final matches in both cities will be played on Thursday 26 March before the finals are contested on Tuesday 31 March.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will be played in single-leg knockout matches, ensuring high-stakes showdowns in Mexico as the six competing nations seek to secure one of the final places at the first-ever 48 team FIFA World Cup.
Fans eager to attend the play-off matches in Guadalajara and Monterrey will be able to secure tickets via FIFA.com/tickets. Ticketing information is set to be released early next year.
Along with other key events, including the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC on Friday 5 December and the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday 30 April 2026, the play-off tournament in Mexico will mark a significant milestone in the build-up to next year’s edition of FIFA’s flagship tournament, which will kick off at Mexico City Stadium on Thursday 11 June.
The match schedule for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament is available at FIFA.com.
###
