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UEFA Playoff Matchups Set for the 2026 North & Central America World Cup!16 Teams Battle for Only 4 Spots — Italy Begins Their Quest to Return After 3 Tournaments vs Northern Ireland
FIFA announced on the 20th that the playoff draw for the European qualifiers of next year’s North and Central America World Cup has been completed.
The playoffs will take place in late March, featuring 16 teams: the 12 runners-up from the European qualifying groups and the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League 2024–25 standings. These 16 nations will be divided into four groups of four, with only the group winners earning a place in the World Cup.
The 16 playoff participants are arranged into four pots:
Pot 1 includes Italy, Denmark, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Pot 2 features Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Pot 3 contains Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
Pot 4 consists of Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, and Northern Ireland.
In the opening round, Pot 1 teams will face Pot 4, while Pot 2 teams will meet Pot 3.
Italy, who have failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, will open their playoff campaign with a matchup against Northern Ireland.
[Group A] (March 26, 2026)
Italy vs Northern Ireland
Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
[Playoff Final] (March 31, 2026)
Winner of Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
vs
Winner of Italy vs Northern Ireland
[Group B] (March 26, 2026)
Ukraine vs Sweden
Poland vs Albania
[Playoff Final] (March 31, 2026)
Winner of Ukraine vs Sweden
vs
Winner of Poland vs Albania
[Group C] (March 26, 2026)
Türkiye vs Romania
Slovakia vs Kosovo
[Playoff Final] (March 31, 2026)
Winner of Türkiye vs Romania
vs
Winner of Slovakia vs Kosovo
[Group D] (March 26, 2026)
Denmark vs North Macedonia
Czech Republic vs Ireland
[Playoff Final] (March 31, 2026)
Winner of Czech Republic vs Ireland
vs
Winner of Denmark vs North Macedonia
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“Social Media Reactions”
The UEFA 2026 World Cup Playoff draw has delivered pure chaos. Italy received the most favorable path, Romania’s supporters are already panicking, and fans across Europe have taken to social media to voice their excitement, frustration, and banter. Here’s a breakdown of every reaction from SNS and football forums.
[Group A]
Ireland reactions
- Ireland probably collectively muttered “fucksake…” the moment they got drawn in the same bracket as Denmark.
- But yeah, Ireland gotta get past the Czechs first lol.
- Well, we (Czech) literally lost to the Faroe Islands, so yeah… lol.
- Ireland’s got Parrott, their No.9 from AZ, mate.
- We’re Ireland, man… we even lost to Armenia once lol.
Italy reactions
- Italy couldn’t have asked for a sweeter draw.
- March is gonna be pure comedy.
- Italy losing 0–1 to Northern Ireland is gonna be comedy gold.
- Dan Ballard 94th-minute header, calling it now.（Sunderland／Northern Ireland）
- Off a Trai Hume cross. Pure cinema.（Sunderland／Northern Ireland）
[Group B]
Sweden reactions
- Sweden’s nonsense honestly needs to be studied.
- Dovbyk masterclass incoming, trust.(Ukraine/ASRoma)
- Man… I really hope so.
- Johansson masterclass incoming.(Stoke City/Sweden）
Poland reactions
- Why do Poland have to play Albania every damn time?
- Cause we’re football friends, that’s why
[Group C]
Turkey reactions
- Turkey has to be the winner of this draw.
- Nah, you can’t underestimate Lucescu.（Romania head coach）
- He literally got outcoached by Barbarez, who’s been a manager for less than two years. You guys will be fine.
- Romania looked awful from what I saw. We beat Georgia twice and they’re the better team. Kosovo in the final could be tricky though.
- Lol, Lucescu is a senile old man at this point.
- Nah, “Uncle” still has something left in him.
Romania reactions
- We’re terrible tbh. Stanciu and Drăgușin will be back, but we’ve got like a 10% chance of winning.
- We’re getting smashed 5–0. Romania hasn’t made a WC in 27 years. We’re just not good.
- Lucescu’s washed. Sure, he knows Turkish football, but with the squad quality gap and our awful morale, Romania would need a miracle to go through.
- We(Türkiye) always choke in finals anyway… We did fine in the group (except Spain), but a one-off match is scary. At least we’re playing Romania at home.
Kosovo reactions
- Kosovo away isn’t a comfy tie.
- Kosovo–Slovakia is honestly the easiest away trip we could’ve gotten. Still hard, but way better than Poland, Ireland, Wales, Bosnia etc.
[Group D]
Denmark reactions
- Denmark are such a weird team. On paper they’re legit, but they completely bottled it against Belarus and Scotland. They always seem to play down to their opponents’ level, so they’re absolutely beatable.
- I’m Greek, and honestly after you guys dominated us in Piraeus I thought first place in the group was basically wrapped up. Fair play to Scotland for taking their chance, but we played them four times this year and they’re nowhere near your level.
What do you reckon your issue is? Mental thing? - Yeah, it’s 100% a mental thing. The moment the momentum turns against us, we crumble instantly. The new players coming in are super introverted, and the older ones are kinda “good-weather leaders.”
Højbjerg and Schmeichel are great players, but they’re not the type who lift the team when things go south, especially for the younger guys.
- So it’s a one-off match, and they decide home advantage with a coin flip? Seriously?
If anything, the team with the better group-stage record should get rewarded, not lose out to pure randomness.
Either host the mini-tournaments on neutral ground or give the edge to the team that earned it.
Only FIFA or UEFA could come up with something this absurd. - UEFA’s playoff format has been a joke these past World Cups.
Single-elimination games on non-neutral grounds are just ridiculous. - Once the tournament starts, world rankings shouldn’t matter at all.
Seeding should be based purely on how teams perform in this tournament, not some outdated ranking.
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