Italy is set to face Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifying playoff match in March, followed by a potential trip to reach its first tournament after falling short in previous attempts. FIFA conducted the draw for the playoffs, revealing that the victor between Italy and Northern Ireland will play either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina five days later, with a spot in the 48-team finals tournament in North America up for grabs.
Having not participated in a World Cup since 2014, Italy secured a playoff spot by finishing as the runner-up in a qualifying group led by Norway. In other European playoff match-ups, Ukraine will play against Sweden, and the winner will then face Poland or Albania at home.
Kosovo, a newcomer in European soccer, will begin its journey to potentially qualify for its first World Cup by playing against Slovakia away, followed by a home game against Turkey or Romania. Meanwhile, Ireland’s impressive recent victories over Portugal and Hungary have earned them a playoff semifinal against the Czech Republic, with the winner set to host Denmark or North Macedonia.
FIFA also announced the draw for the intercontinental playoffs involving six nations outside of Europe. Iraq, a seeded team, will need to defeat either Bolivia or Suriname in a one-game playoff in March to secure a place in the finals tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Congo, another seeded team, awaits the winner of a single-game semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
The intercontinental playoff matches are scheduled to take place in Mexico from March 23-31, with games held in Guadalajara and Monterrey, where each city will host four World Cup matches in June. A total of six teams will advance from the playoffs in March to complete the lineup of the first 48-nation World Cup.
The remaining 42 teams for the World Cup were finalized this week after the completion of qualifying groups and playoffs across four continents. The World Cup draw is set for December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where the six teams from the unconfirmed playoffs will be drawn as placeholders, likely coming from the pool of lowest-ranked teams in the seeded draw.
Iraq secured a spot in the global playoffs with a late penalty goal in stoppage time against the United Arab Emirates, sealing a 2-1 victory and a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg Asian playoff. Iraq’s only previous World Cup appearance was in 1986, and their coach, Graham Arnold, led Australia in the 2022 tournament in Qatar, advancing to the round of 16.
New Caledonia, ranked lowest among the playoff teams at 149 out of 211 FIFA member countries, earned their playoff spot by defeating Tahiti 3-0 earlier this year but fell short against New Zealand in the Oceania qualifying final. Coach Johann Sidaner’s team recently secured a victory over Gibraltar in a friendly match.
