Draft:2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round
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The UEFA second round of the qualification tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, also known as the UEFA play-offs, will be contested by sixteen teams from the UEFA segment of qualifying. The play-offs will determine the final four European teams that will join the twelve group winners at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The twelve runners-up from the UEFA first round groups will participate in the play-offs, along with four teams based on the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking. The teams will be divided into four paths, each containing four teams, with each play-off path featuring two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. The twelve matches will take place in March 2026.
The play-off format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 28 June 2023.[1] The play-offs will depend, in part, on results from the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, although to a lesser degree than play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament.[2][3]
The twelve runners-up from the first round (group stage) will be joined by four Nations League group winners that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group, based on the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking. The sixteen teams will be split into four play-off paths, each containing four teams. Each play-off path will feature two single-leg semi-finals on 26 March, and one single-leg final on 31 March 2026. In the semi-finals, the fixtures of each path will be determined by seeding pots, with the Pot 1 team hosting the Pot 4 team and the Pot 2 team hosting the Pot 3 team. The host of each path final will be decided by a draw between the two semi-final pairings. The winner of the four path finals will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The play-offs will be played in single-leg knockout matches. If scores are level at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time is played, where each team is allowed to make a sixth substitution. If the scores remain tied, a penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner.[4]
Sixteen teams will advance to the play-offs. The participants will not be decided solely on the results of the first round, with four of the spots allocated to group winners of the 2024–25 edition of the UEFA Nations League.
Based on the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking, the best four Nations League group winners that finish outside the top two of their qualifying group will advance to the play-offs. If fewer than four Nations League group winners can be selected, the remaining spot(s) will be allocated to the best remaining team(s) in the Nations League interim overall ranking that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group.
The table below shows the order in which teams will be selected based on the UEFA Nations League interim overall ranking.[note 1]
Following the completion of the UEFA first round (group stage), the sixteen teams that advanced to the play-offs will be drawn into four paths of four teams.
For the draw, the sixteen teams will be divided into four pots of four teams each. The twelve group runners-up will be allocated to pots 1 to 3, with seeding based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 2025. The four teams qualified via the Nations League will be automatically seeded into pot 4.
Play-off Path A is formed by semi-finals 1 and 2, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final A.
Play-off Path B is formed by semi-finals 3 and 4, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final B.
Play-off Path C is formed by semi-finals 5 and 6, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final C.
Play-off Path D is formed by semi-finals 7 and 8, with the winners of both semi-finals advancing to final D.
The draw for the semi-finals will start with Pot 1 and complete with Pot 4. Teams will be drawn and assigned to the first available play-off semi-final (considering prohibited clashes) in numerical order, as follows:
The Pot 1 teams (seeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7 as the host team.
The Pot 2 teams (seeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8 as the host team.
The Pot 3 teams (unseeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8 as the away team.
The Pot 4 teams (unseeded) will be allocated to semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7 as the away team.
The draw for the final hosts will take place immediately afterwards, with finals A, B, C and D each having one of their semi-finalists selected as the host team.
A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[4]
Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
Receiving two yellow cards in two different qualifying group stage matches (yellow card suspensions are carried forward to the play-off semi-finals, but not the play-off finals, World Cup final tournament or any other future international matches)
Yellow cards received during the qualifying group stage will expire prior to the UEFA play-offs, thus preventing suspensions in the play-off finals due to yellow cards received in the semi-finals. However, yellow card suspensions accumulated at the end of the qualifying group stage will still be carried forward to the play-off semi-finals.
^"Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2024/25"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 December 2023. Annex A – 2024–26 National Team Match Calendar. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
