FIFA held the intercontinental play-off draw at its Zurich headquarters on Thursday, significantly narrowing the route to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The event, which was presided over by the legendary French football player Christian Karembeu, set the stage for a fierce competition amongst six countries vying for the final two World Cup spots.
Two distinct pathways resulted from the draw. In the first, Jamaica and New Caledonia faced off in the first semifinal. The top-ranked team in the group, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will face the victor of that tie.
The second path starts with Bolivia playing Suriname, and the winner gets to meet with Iraq. As the two seeded teams, DR Congo (ranked 56th) and Iraq (ranked 58th) both advanced straight to their finals. Bolivia (76), Jamaica (70), Suriname (123), and New Caledonia (149) make up the remaining field.
According to the regulations, seeding is solely based on the most recent global rankings. The top four teams compete for the opportunity to challenge the top two, who avoid the early knockout stage. In order to avoid a confederation conflict in the first round of matches, Jamaica and Suriname were kept apart.
FIFA also revealed that Mexico will host the whole play-off series, with games slated for March 23–31, 2026, in Guadalajara and Monterrey.
Every match will be a single-leg knockout. The tie goes into extra time if the score is tied after ninety minutes. If the impasse persists, there will be a penalty shootout.
Keep in mind that there will only be two FIFA World Cup tickets available from the intercontinental play-offs in 2026.
