When is the World Cup play-offs draw? Date, time, pots, and how to watch

The full line-up for Europe's World Cup play-offs will be confirmed after Tuesday night's fixtures.

Next March, 16 teams will scrap it out for just four spots at the summer tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Slovakia, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Italy, Albania, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Northern Ireland will be joined by six more European nations in the hat, which could include both Scotland and Wales, depending on how this evening's fixtures play out.

Two victories in next year's play-offs will be all that is needed to reach the tournament but with all 16 teams fighting to keep their World Cup dreams alive, nothing will come easy.

RadioTimes.com brings you all the details for the World Cup play-offs draw.

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When is the World Cup play-offs draw?

The draw for the World Cup play-offs will take place on Thursday 20th November.

The draw will be made at approximately 12pm UK time.

You can watch the World Cup play-offs draw on FIFA+ or the BBC Sport website, while there will also be live coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live.

What are the pots for the World Cup play-offs draw?

The 16 teams will be split into four pots. Pots 1-3 will be decided by the FIFA Rankings, while Pot 4 is made up of the four teams that qualified through the Nations League.

One team from each pot will be drawn into one of Path A, Path B, Path C, and Path D. In each of the paths, the teams from Pot 1 will host sides from Pot 4 in the semi-finals and Pot 2 nations will host those from Pot 4.

The winners of the semi-finals in each path will meet in the final, with the winner earning a place at World Cup 2026.

Pot 1: N/A

Pot 2: N/A

Pot 3: N/A

Pot 4: Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland and Wales or North Macedonia.

When are the World Cup play-offs?

The World Cup play-offs semi-finals will be played on Thursday 26th March 2026 at either 5pm or 7:45pm.

The finals will be played on Tuesday 31st March 2026 at either 5pm or 7:45pm.

The potential venues for both the semi-finals and finals will be confirmed by Friday 19th December 2025 at the latest.

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