World Cup 2026: Iraq joins DRC, Bolivia and New Caledonia in intercontinental play-offs

Kinshasa, November 18^th, 2025 (CPA).- Iraq has joined the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia and New Caledonia in the intercontinental play-offs for the 2026 Canada-Mexico-United States World Cup, after defeating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 on Tuesday at Basra Sport City Stadium in the Asian play-off final. As a result, of the six play-off teams, only two remain from North, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf). The competition will take place from March 23^rd to 31^st, 2026, in Mexico, one of the host countries of this World Cup. It will be played directly in the semi-finals, followed by the final. Among the six qualified teams, the rules of the game stipulate that the FIFA rankings will be used first. The top two teams in the rankings will be exempt from the semi-finals. They will only play directly in the final. The other four teams will be paired off for the semi-finals following a draw scheduled for November 20th, 2025, based on the FIFA rankings to be published the day before, on November 19th, taking into account the results of the latest international break. The winners of these two semi-finals will face the two exempt teams in the finals, and the two winners of the two finals will qualify for the World Cup.