The road to the 2026 World Cup is entering its final, decisive stage -- with four spots up for grabs from UEFA's playoffs to join this summer's 48-team tournament.
World Cup giants Italy remain in the hunt for one of those four spots, as are Poland, Denmark and Sweden along with four other nations.
But who will progress, how does it all work and how can you watch the games in the UK? ESPN has you covered.
Who qualified for the European playoffs?
Sixteen teams qualified European playoffs for the 2026 World Cup, offering a second-chance route to football's most prestigious tournament via a unique knockout.
The lineup was made up of 12 runners-up from the World Cup qualifying group stage, plus four teams that earned places through their performances in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League -- a safety net designed to reward consistent competitive results outside of traditional qualifying.
Runners-up: Slovakia, Kosovo, Denmark, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Wales, Albania and Czechia
UEFA Nations League qualifiers: Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia and Northern Ireland
The Nations League spots are allocated to the best-ranked group winners who did not finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying group.
How does it work?
The teams are split into four separate paths, labelled A-D, each containing four teams. Each path follows the same format:
Two single-leg semifinals
One single-leg final
The winners of each path qualify for the World Cup -- meaning just four of the 16 teams advance.
Higher-ranked teams host the semifinals, while the host of the finals were random and determined by November's draw.
In short, though: win two one-off matches, and you're at the World Cup.
Which teams made it to the finals?
Italy took a big step towards reaching their first World Cup since 2014 after a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in Bergamo, with Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean getting on the scoresheet.
The Azzurri will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in their playoff final following their defeat of Wales. Craig Bellamy's side were minutes away from reaching the final before Edin Dzeko scored late on from a corner to send the game to extra-time and subsequently penalties. Brennan Johnson and Nico Williams missed their penalties to break Welsh hearts.
Republic of Ireland too had their World Cup dream ended in a penalty shootout defeat to Czechia. Troy Parrot's sensational hat trick against Hungrary had secured their place in the playoffs, and it seemed they were brewing more magic in Prague after going 2-0 up. But the hosts fought back to force the game into a penalty shootout, where they won 4-3.
Viktor Gyökeres's hat trick powered Sweden past Ukraine, while Poland, Turkey, Denmark and Kosovo also secured a playoff final spot.
What are the games?
Path A
Final: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Italy
Path B
Final: Sweden vs. Poland
Path C
Final: Kosovo vs Türkiye
Path D
Final: Czechia vs. Denmark
When are the games and how do I watch in the UK?
The finals will all be on Tuesday, March 31 at at 7.45 p.m. GMT. They can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video through pay-per-view.
Who are the favourites to progress?
Italy, the four-time World Cup winners, are the highest-ranked team in the playoffs and will be immensely motivated to avoid missing out on a third successive World Cup.
The final between Sweden and Poland will be an evenly-contested one that will be defined by the battle between Gyökeres and Robert Lewandowski. Poland have featured in each of the last two World Cups while Sweden made it to the quarterfinals in their last tournament appearance in 2018.
Turkey's clash against Kosovo will be high on narrative. The Turks are aiming to reach their first World Cup since 2002, where they made a remarkable run to the semfinals. Meanwhile, Kosovo only began playing international football in 2014 and have never played in a major tournament before.
What 2026 World Cup groups will teams end up in?
All playoff teams were seeded into Pot 4 for December's World Cup draw, marking them as the lowest-ranked sides and ensuring they face higher-ranked opponents in the group stage.
The winner of each playoff path will join a specific group:
- Path A winner joins Group B with co-hosts Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland.
- Path B winner joins Group E alongside the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia.
- Path C winner joins Group C with co-hosts the USA, Paraguay, and Australia.
- Path D winner joins Group A with co-hosts Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea.
What other playoffs are taking place?
On top of the UEFA playoffs, there are also the interconfederation playoffs -- where six countries will duke it out for two more World Cup spots.
Each of the five confederations (apart from UEFA) will provide one country, while the host confederation (Concacaf) receives a second slot.
1 - Africa (DR Congo)
1 - Asia (Iraq)
2 - Concacaf (Jamaica and Suriname)
1 - Oceania (New Caledonia)
1 - South America (Bolivia)
The two nations with the best FIFA World Ranking -- DR Congo and Iraq -- were seeded and will go straight into one of the two finals. The four other countries were drawn to play a semifinal, feeding through to play a seed for one of the two places at the World Cup.
Jamaica's 1-0 win over New Caledonia and Bolivia's 2-1 defeat of Suriname in the semifinals secured their places in the final.
Pathway 1
March 26
New Caledonia 0-1 Jamaica
March 31
Jamaica vs DR Congo, Guadalajara, 10 p.m. GMT
Pathway 2
March 26
Bolivia 2-1 Suriname
March 31
Bolivia vs. Iraq, Guadalupe, 4 a.m. GMT (on April 1)
The winners of Pathway 1 will go into Group K with Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia, while the winners of Pathway 2 will join France, Senegal and Norway in Group I.