Twenty teams would nurse hopes to make a last-ditch leap to reach the FIFA World Cup spread over the next six days. Four-time winners Italy is the most prominent amongst them, there is Robert Lewandowski’s Poland and Alexander Isak’s Sweden in the mix too, setting up an intriguing time in world football.
Sixteen teams from UEFA still have a chance to qualify, the teams drawn into four groups of four. Each plays the semi-finals and a final.
Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Bosnia and Herzegovina comprise the tricky group. Italy would hope to end their wretched run of missing the two previous campaigns. On paper, the Azzurri holds the upper hand but Northern Ireland will not go down without a fight, aiming to make their first World Cup since 1986.
Italy need to win against Northern Ireland, the lowest ranked team on the FIFA rankings among the remaining teams, and then beat the winner of Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina. The victors will join Group B with Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland.
Group 2
Arguably the toughest group with a potential big showdown between Sweden and Poland, teams like Ukraine and Albania could cause big upsets. Sweden, though laden with stars like Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, and Anthony Elanga, finished last in their qualifying group, with zero wins, and only made it to the playoffs because of their performance in the UEFA Nations League. They scored only four and conceded 12. They will need their attacking talent to translate into a more cohesive structure against Ukraine.
Lewandowski’s Poland, second best only to the Netherlands in their group, will feel much more confident heading into their match against Albania. But they should be wary as the southern European side has kept four clean sheets and only lost to England in the qualifiers. The sides last met in 2023, where Albania beat Poland 2-0.The semi-finals will see Ukraine play Sweden and Poland face off against Albania. The winner will join Group F with Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia.
Group 3
Another unpredictable group that features Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo. Arda Güler’s Turkey, after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 UEFA Euro’s, will be hoping to make their first World Cup appearance since 2002, where they finished third place. Güler, together with skillful playmakers like Juventus’ Kenan Yıldız and Inter Milan’s Hakan Çalhanoğlu, will be a dark horse in June, should they qualify.
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Turkey will play Romania while Slovakia will meet Kosovo in the semi-finals. The winner will join Group D with The United States of America, Paraguay, and Australia.
Group 4
Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, and Republic of Ireland make up the fourth bracket. Denmark, according to the FIFA rankings, are facing the second-worst team in this group of 22 teams in North Macedonia. Midfield stalwarts like Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Christian Nørgaard and Mikkel Damsgaard are titular figures. Ex-Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund has been loving life in Napoli and will also be crucial for the Nordic side.
The first stage sees Denmark against North Macedonia and Czech Republic versus Republic of Ireland. The winner will join Group A with Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.
Two from the FIFA interconfederation playoff tournament
The FIFA interconfederation tournament started in 1998 as a one-off matchup between an Asian and Oceania qualifier. Because of the size of this year’s tournament, six teams are eligible for 2026. Every confederation gets one play-off spot except for UEFA, plus an extra spot for the host confederation. Since Canada, Mexico, and the US are hosting in 2026, CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) gets two spots, while the AFC (Asian Football Confederation, CAF (Confederation of African Football), CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation), and OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) each get one.
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These are the six teams in the playoff: Iraq (AFC); DR Congo (CAF), Jamaica (CONCACAF, Suriname), Bolivia (CONMEBOL), New Caledonia (OFC). The teams were seeded based on their FIFA World Rankings and the top two seeds, DR Congo and Iraq, automatically progressed to Playoff final 1 and 2.
Lot 1: Winner of Bolivia vs Suriname (semifinal) will meet Iraq. The winner will join Group I, with France, Senegal, and Norway.
Lot 2: Winners of New Caledonia vs Jamaica (semifinal) will meet DR Congo. The victors will join Group K with Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.
The European qualifiers will be available to watch on SonyLiv with a subscription; the FIFA interconfederation playoff tournament will be available to watch on FIFA+ for free.
