Wales and Northern Ireland will do battle for a place at the 2026 World Cup if they navigate playoff semi-finals of differing toughness in March.
The pair would fight it out in Cardiff for a ticket to next year’s showpiece if Wales win a home tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland prevail in a fiendish trip to Italy, who are out of form but will be strongly favoured. It is a particularly appetising draw for Craig Bellamy’s Wales, who are flying after defeating North Macedonia 7-1 on Tuesday and are two home victories from a return to the most exalted stage.
The Republic of Ireland, fresh from an extraordinary week in which Troy Parrott scored all five goals in their wins over Portugal and Hungary, will feel quietly confident of a first finals spot since 2002. They must travel to face Czech Republic in the semi-finals but, should they muster further heroics in Prague, a home final against Denmark or North Macedonia lies in wait.
Europe will send four teams to the World Cup through the playoffs, whose semi-finals will take place on 26 March before the finals five days later. Wales and the Republic of Ireland had been drawn from pot three after finishing second in their qualifying groups; Northern Ireland reached the playoffs via the Nations League and always looked destined for a more difficult semi-final from pot four.
The other two pathways also produced enticing match-ups. Ukraine will face Graham Potter’s Sweden, the winners hosting whoever prevails in a semi-final between Poland and Albania. Slovakia or Kosovo will stage the fourth final against Turkey or Romania.
The European draw was preceded by the one for the inter-confederation playoffs, which pit non-Uefa nations against one another. Jamaica will scent a chance to reach their first World Cup finals since 1998 after being matched with outsiders New Caledonia in the semi-finals, the winner of that tie facing top-seeded Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jamaica will compete under a new manager after Steve McClaren resigned this week.
In the other pathway Bolivia and Suriname will play off for a final against Iraq. The inter-confederation ties, also to be held during the March international break, will take place in the Mexican cities Monterrey and Guadalajara.
