2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)
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) Bolivia Moisés Paniagua
(2 goals)
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2030 →

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]

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

Map
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500km
311miles
2
2 Zapopan
2 Zapopan
1
1 Guadalupe
1 Guadalupe
   
Location of the host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

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

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]

Seeded Unseeded
  1.  DR Congo (56) (final 1)
  2.  Iraq (58) (final 2)
  1.  Jamaica (70)
  2.  Bolivia (76)
  3.  Suriname (123)
  4.  New Caledonia (149)

Schedule

The match schedule for the inter-confederation play-offs was announced on 21 November 2025, the day after the draw. Two matches took place on each of 26 and 31 March 2026.[14][15]

All times are local, CST (UTC−6).

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
  • Cadamarteri 18'
Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Attendance: 40,983
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)

Final

DR Congo  1–0 (a.e.t.)  Jamaica
  • Tuanzebe 100'
 Report
Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Attendance: 39,983
Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)[note 1]

Pathway 2

The winner of Pathway 2, Iraq, entered Group I in the final tournament.

Bracket

Semi-final Final
           
31 March 2026 – Guadalupe
 Iraq 2
26 March 2026 – Guadalupe
 Bolivia 1
 Bolivia 2
 Suriname 1

Semi-final

Bolivia  2–1  Suriname
  • Paniagua 72'
  • Terceros 79' (pen.)
 Report
  • Van Gelderen 48'
Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
Attendance: 33,547
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Australia)

Final

Iraq  2–1  Bolivia
  • Al-Hamadi 10'
  • Hussein 53'
 Report
  • Paniagua 38'
Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
Attendance: 49,286
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Goalscorers

There were 8 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.

2 goals

  • Bolivia Moisés Paniagua

1 goal

  • Bolivia Miguel Terceros
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Axel Tuanzebe
  • Iraq Ali Al-Hamadi
  • Iraq Aymen Hussein
  • Jamaica Bailey Cadamarteri
  • Suriname Liam van Gelderen

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 Yellow card vs Curaçao (10 October 2025)
Yellow card vs Curaçao (18 November 2025)		 vs New Caledonia (26 March 2026)
Jon Russell Yellow card Yellow-red card vs Curaçao (18 November 2025) vs New Caledonia (26 March 2026)
 New Caledonia Pierre Bako Yellow card vs Tahiti (21 March 2025)
Yellow card vs New Zealand (24 March 2025)		 vs Jamaica (26 March 2026)
 Suriname Kenneth Paal Yellow card vs El Salvador (13 November 2025)
Yellow card 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

  • 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round

Notes

  1. ^ Tello suffered an injury in the 114th minute and was replaced by fourth official Darío Herrera (Argentina).[16]

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Play-Off Tournament: Everything you need to know". FIFA. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey to host FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament". FIFA. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  4. ^ "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup 26 qualifying: All you need to know". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  6. ^ "2026 World Cup draw to be held at Kennedy Center in December". ESPN.com. 22 August 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Men's International Match Calendar 2023–2030" (PDF). FIFA. April 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Stadiums renamed for Fifa sponsors". BBC. 6 June 2006. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  10. ^ "FIFA headquarters to host FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament and European Play-Off draws". FIFA. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  11. ^ "FIFA Men's World Ranking: 19 November 2025". 19 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Draw Procedures for the FIFA World Cup 26 Play-Off Tournament" (PDF). FIFA. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  13. ^ "FIFA Legends Karembeu, Materazzi and Dahlin named as assistants for FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament and European play-off draws". FIFA. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Match schedule for FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament confirmed". FIFA. 21 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  15. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament match schedule" (PDF). FIFA. 21 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  16. ^ "En vivo | Estas son las selecciones que ganaron el repechaje y aseguraron su cupo para el Mundial 2026" [Live | These are the teams that won their play-offs and secured their place at the 2026 World Cup]. Primicias (in Spanish). 31 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Mexico grants visas to some Iraq players for World Cup qualifier in Monterrey". Associated Press. 11 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  18. ^ a b Gonzalez, Dante (9 March 2026). "2026 World Cup intercontinental playoffs face possible setback as Iraq requests postponement from FIFA". World Soccer Talk. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  19. ^ a b "'Sleepless nights': Arnie's desperate FIFA plea as war throws Cup qualifying bid into chaos". Fox Sports (Australia). Agence France-Presse. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  20. ^ a b "Travel chaos threatens Iraq's participation in World Cup playoffs". SuperSport. Reuters. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  21. ^ "FIFA arrange private jet to get Iraq to Mexico for 2026 final qualifier". Inside World Football. 16 March 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Learn About Iraq's Journey to Mexico". Yalla Shoot. 17 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Iraq team arrives in Mexico for World Cup playoff despite travel hurdles". Iraqi News. 23 March 2026. Archived from the original on 23 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  24. ^ Flores Aldana, Omar (22 March 2026). "¿Cómo fue la travesia de Irak para jugar repechaje en Monterrey?" [What was Iraq's journey like to play the playoffs in Monterrey?] (in Spanish). ESPN México. Archived from the original on 23 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.