16 teams in the European World Cup play-offs

The European qualifiers ended in the early morning of November 19 with many regrets for the strong teams.

The teams participating in the 2026 World Cup play-off round in Europe were revealed after a series of matches taking place in the early morning of November 19.

List of teams participating in the European play-offs.

According to the regulations of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the European play-off round will have a total of 16 participating teams, divided into 4 groups, each group has 2 semi-finals and 1 final to choose the owners of the 4 remaining tickets to North and Central America next summer.

Italy, Denmark, Türkiye and Ukraine, strong teams but unable to qualify directly for the World Cup, are ranked in the top seed group.

In group 2, Poland, Wales, Czech Republic and Slovakia are also ready to challenge all opponents.

Italy have been absent from the last two World Cups and cannot afford to make any more mistakes in the upcoming round. Italian fans still cannot forget the nightmare that happened nearly four years ago, when Roberto Mancini's team lost 0-1 to North Macedonia in the play-off semi-finals.

The remaining four teams will be determined by their UEFA Nations League ranking. The ticket to the next round will belong to the team with the highest ranking in this tournament but not yet qualified for the World Cup. According to the current rankings, Sweden, Romania, North Macedonia and Northern Ireland are the teams that will participate in the play-off.

The European World Cup play-off draw took place at UEFA headquarters on November 20. The main round of play-offs will start in March 2026 with a total of 12 matches.

Source: https://znews.vn/16-doi-du-play-off-world-cup-khu-vuc-chau-au-post1603969.html