The final pathways to the game-changing FIFA World Cup 2026 will be mapped out when the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Playoff Tournament and the European Playoff draw take place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, 20 November 2025.

The draws will define the routes the 22 competing nations – six via the Playoffs Tournament and 16 through European Playoff matches – will need to successfully navigate to seal a spot at the first-ever 48-team FIFA World Cup, which will be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States from Thursday, 11 June to Sunday, 19 July 2026.

The draws will be staged back-to-back, with the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Playoff Tournament commencing at 13:00 CET, followed by the European Playoff equivalent.

The draws will take place just two days after the completion of the November 2025 international match window, which promises to be another action-packed period as the list of qualified nations for the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup continues to take shape.

Twenty-eight teams have already booked their places at next year’s historic tournament, with a further 14 nations – three from CONCACAF and 11 from UEFA – set to punch their tickets to the finals via confederation qualifying this month.

The November international window will also define which teams from the AFC, CAF and CONCACAF that will join Bolivia (CONMEBOL) and New Caledonia (the OFC) at the six-nation FIFA Playoff Tournament, as well as the 16 countries that will compete in the European Playoffs, during the international match window from 23 to 31 March 2026.

The FIFA Play-Off Tournament will feature two finals where the winners of the two semi-finals between the unseeded teams will face the two seeded teams, with the eventual winners securing two spots at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The European Playoffs will be made up of 12 group runners-up and the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners.

The 16 teams who enter will be drawn into four playoff paths, with four teams in each. Playoff matches will be played in single-leg semi-finals followed by single-leg finals to decide Europe’s final four FIFA World Cup 2026 participants.

To ensure both draws can be conducted in accordance with the relevant draw procedures, the next edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking will be published on Wednesday, 19 November 2025. (THISDAY)