The international playoff matches, which will determine the last two spots for the 2026 World Cup, will be held at the stadiums in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico. The tournament will take place from March 23 to 31 and will feature six national teams.
Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jamaica, Suriname, Bolivia, and New Caledonia will compete for the last two remaining spots for the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Additionally, both stadiums will host World Cup matches: the Guadalajara stadium will host four group stage matches, while the Monterrey stadium will host three group stage matches and one round of 16 game.
«The intensity, the emotion, and the unique atmosphere that will accompany this tournament find in these stadiums a worthy stage,» stated FIFA President Gianni Infantino in an official statement.
The draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament will take place on Thursday at FIFA headquarters in Zurich at 13:00 CET (12:00 GMT).
The match schedule will be confirmed after the draw, which can be watched live on the official website of the organization led by Infantino.
So far, 42 of the 48 teams that will participate in the 2026 World Cup are known.
In addition to the three host countries (Canada, the United States, and Mexico), the tournament will feature Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Panama, Curaçao, Haiti, England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Scotland, and Switzerland.
The remaining four European spots will be contested in another playoff tournament involving the second-placed teams from each of UEFA's twelve groups and the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League.
