World Cup Playoffs: What to look out for as European and intercontinental routes reach a crunch
The world cup playoffs begin on Thursday with four European places at stake for this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sixteen teams enter the European phase, with one-legged semis and finals across four paths; parallel intercontinental playoffs will decide two final berths. This is the knockout sprint that will finalize the field for the expanded finals.
World Cup Playoffs: European picture and headline ties
The European section of the world cup playoffs is built from 16 teams: the 12 teams that finished second in their qualifying groups plus the four best-ranked Nations League group winners who missed automatic qualification. The structure is four paths of four, each with single-leg semi-finals and a final to produce one qualifier. Key fixtures named in the draw include Wales hosting Bosnia-Herzegovina at Cardiff City Stadium, Northern Ireland travelling to a neutral venue in Italy with their semi-final at Atalanta’s home ground in Bergamo, and Sweden travelling to Valencia to face Ukraine at a neutral venue because of the war in Ukraine.
Northern Ireland carry a long wait into these ties: they last reached the World Cup in 1986. If they upset Italy — a win they have not achieved since 1958 — they could be drawn into a final away to Wales. Sweden reached the play-offs on the strength of their Nations League pool after finishing bottom of their qualifying group; their manager Graham Potter has not recorded a win since taking charge, with a 4-1 loss to Switzerland and a 1-1 draw with Slovenia recorded under his tenure. Sweden are also missing striker Alexander Isak through a broken leg, and Arne Slot, Liverpool manager, said the striker could return in late March or early April.
Intercontinental playoff routes and decisive spots
Alongside the European knockout phase, an intercontinental playoff tournament will hand two more places at the finals. That mini-tournament reduces several confederations to two winners who will join the field. The sequence features semifinals among lower-ranked entrants with winners advancing to face predetermined higher-ranked opponents. Hosts for those playoffs will include Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico, with the winners of those brackets earning the last tickets to the expanded finals.
The intercontinental tournament is the final hurdle for teams that survived long regional campaigns and now have one last shot to reach the World Cup. The dual structure — European paths delivering four qualifiers and the intercontinental bracket delivering two — leaves six final places to be sealed in the coming days of knockout football.
Reactions, quick context and what happens next
Craig Bellamy, Wales manager, called Bosnia-Herzegovina a “different beast” ahead of the Cardiff City Stadium tie. Michael O’Neill, Northern Ireland manager, said the Bergamo venue will suit his side more than more iconic Italian stadia. Gennaro Gattuso remains the figurehead of Italy’s campaign, with the Azzurri’s fate in his hands as they attempt to avoid missing another major tournament.
Quick context: the play-offs are single-leg, sudden-death routes to qualification. Sixteen European entrants and a separate intercontinental bracket will determine the final six places for the expanded World Cup.
What’s next: expect single-elimination drama across several neutral venues as managers and players chase a last chance at the finals. Watch for squad news, venue conditions and the winners of each semi-final advancing immediately to one-off finals. The coming fixtures will decide who secures the remaining spots in the world cup playoffs and who’s left to plan for a missed campaign.
