2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)
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The inter-confederation play-offs of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament (officially named the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament) determined two qualification spots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be played in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.[1] The play-offs took place on 26 and 31 March 2026 at two venues in Mexico.[2]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Mexico |
| Dates | 26–31 March 2026 |
| Teams | 6 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 8 (2 per match) |
| Attendance | 163,799 (40,950 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Moisés Paniagua(2 goals) |
← 2022 2030 → | |
Format
The slot allocation for the inter-confederation play-offs was confirmed by the FIFA Council in 2017. Each confederation received one play-off slot, except UEFA, with an additional play-off slot also given to the confederation of the host association(s).[3][4] As Canada, Mexico, and the United States were subsequently appointed as hosts for the 2026 World Cup, CONCACAF received two spots in the play-off tournament, while the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC each received one.[5]
The play-off tournament was initially only known to be held in North America to act as a preparatory event for the World Cup,[6] and would take place during the FIFA window of 23–31 March 2026,[7] less than three months prior to the start of the final tournament. The play-offs featured six teams, split into two brackets of three teams, with both bracket winners qualifying for the World Cup. The teams were seeded into brackets based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking. Each bracket features two unseeded teams facing each other in a semi-final, with the winner advancing to the play-off final against a seeded team.[5]
The play-offs were played in single-leg knockout matches. If scores were level at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time was be played, where each team was allowed to make a sixth substitution. If the scores remained tied, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.[8]
Venues
On 19 November 2025, FIFA confirmed Mexico as the host for the inter-confederation play-offs.[2] The four matches were played at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, with each venue hosting two fixtures. During the tournament, the stadiums were known by different names, as FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the stadium sponsors are also official FIFA sponsors.[9] For example, the Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe was known during the competition as Estadio Monterrey.
| Guadalupe (Monterrey area) |
Zapopan (Guadalajara area) |
|---|---|
| Estadio BBVA (Estadio Monterrey) |
Estadio Akron (Estadio Guadalajara) |
| Capacity: 53,529 | Capacity: 46,232 |
 |
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Qualified teams
| Confederation | Method of qualification | Team | Date advanced to play-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | Fifth round winners |  Iraq |
18 November 2025 |
| CAF | Second round winners |  DR Congo |
16 November 2025 |
| CONCACAF | Third round best two group runners-up |  Jamaica |
18 November 2025 |
 Suriname | |||
| CONMEBOL | Seventh place | Bolivia |
9 September 2025 |
| OFC | Third round runners-up |  New Caledonia |
24 March 2025 |
Draw
The draw took place on 20 November 2025, 13:00 CET (UTC+1), at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.[10] Teams were seeded based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of 19 November 2025 (shown in parentheses).[11] The teams ranked first and second were automatically allocated to play-off final 1 and 2, respectively. The remaining four teams were unseeded and placed into a single pot. In the draw, the unseeded teams were allocated to the first available match (match 1, then 2). The two CONCACAF teams had to be placed into separate paths per FIFA's general draw constraint.[12]
The draw was presented by Melanie Winiger and conducted by Manolo Zubiria, the 2026 tournament's U.S. chief officer. Former player Christian Karembeu acted as an assistant in the draw.[13]
Schedule
Pathway 1
The winner of Pathway 1, DR Congo, entered Group K in the final tournament.
Bracket
| Semi-final | Final | |||||
| 31 March 2026 – Zapopan | ||||||
| DR Congo (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| 26 March 2026 – Zapopan | ||||||
| Jamaica | 0 | |||||
| New Caledonia | 0 | |||||
| Jamaica | 1 | |||||
Semi-final
| New Caledonia | 0–1 | Jamaica |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final
Pathway 2
Goalscorers
There were 8 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.
2 goals
1 goal
Discipline
A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[8]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
- Receiving two yellow cards in two qualifying matches (yellow card suspensions are not carried forward to the World Cup final tournament or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the inter-confederation play-offs:
| Team | Player | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | Ian Fray |  vs Curaçao (10 October 2025) vs Curaçao (18 November 2025) | vs New Caledonia (26 March 2026) |
| Jon Russell |  vs Curaçao (18 November 2025) | vs New Caledonia (26 March 2026) | |
| New Caledonia | Pierre Bako | vs Tahiti (21 March 2025) vs New Zealand (24 March 2025) | vs Jamaica (26 March 2026) |
| Suriname | Kenneth Paal | vs El Salvador (13 November 2025) vs Guatemala (18 November 2025) | vs Bolivia (26 March 2026) |
Effects of the 2026 Iran war
Pathway 2 was affected by the 2026 Iran war, which began on 28 February 2026, a month before the final match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey.
The outbreak of regional hostilities significantly impacted Iraq's logistical preparations for the inter-confederation play-offs. Following the closure of Iraqi airspace and the suspension of international flights, the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs intervened to grant entry visas for the national team through diplomatic channels in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, since Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq.[17] However, despite the issuance of visas, over 60% of the domestic-based squad remained stranded in Baghdad, and a scheduled training camp in Houston was canceled.[18][19] Head coach Graham Arnold was forced to manage team operations remotely from the United Arab Emirates, as the delegation was unable to secure safe passage out of the conflict zone during the initial weeks of the war.[20]
The Iraq Football Association (IFA) formally petitioned FIFA to postpone the play-off match, citing the impossibility of safe transit for the players and staff.[18] FIFA denied the request, citing the rigidity of the FIFA International Match Calendar, and instead proposed an alternative overland route through Turkey to Istanbul.[19] This proposal was rejected by IFA and Arnold due to security concerns regarding repeated Iranian strikes in the Kurdistan region.[20] Amidst these travel complications, the Mexican government maintained its commitment to the team's participation, working directly with the Iraqi Embassy in Mexico to finalize all documentation. On 16 March, it was confirmed that FIFA would provide a chartered private jet to transport the Iraqi team to Mexico.[21] The original plan was for the team to fly on 20 March from the Arar Domestic Airport in Saudi Arabia, near the Iraqi border, and arrive in Monterrey the next day, 10 days before the match.[22] However, further airspace closures in the area forced the group of players and staff based in Iraq to travel by land to Jordan where they departed on a charter flight from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on 21 March. After a technical layover in Lisbon, Portugal, they arrived in Monterrey minutes after midnight.[23][24]
See also
Notes
- Tello suffered an injury in the 114th minute and was replaced by fourth official Darío Herrera (Argentina).[16]