ZURICH (AP) — Iraq must beat Bolivia or Suriname in a one-game playoff next March to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Iraq was seeded in a six-nation draw for the intercontinental playoff at FIFA headquarters on Thursday, making two teams eligible for the 48-nation tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Congo is seeded in the other intercontinental play-off spot and will face the winner of the single-game semi-final between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
Another draw for March’s European playoff spots took place minutes later at FIFA, with 16 teams competing for four World Cup spots, including four-time champions Italy.
Six intercontinental playoff matches will be held from March 23 to 31 at stadiums in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, with four World Cup matches each to be held next June.
A total of six teams will advance from two sets of playoffs in March, completing the initial 48-nation lineup.
The remaining 42 teams have been finalized this week after qualifying groups and playoff games were completed across four continents.
The World Cup draw will be held on December 5th at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. There, six unconfirmed playoff spots will be drawn as placeholders, and the bottom-place teams will be taken out of the pot in the seeding lottery.
Iraq’s penalty in the 17th minute of stoppage time against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday propelled Graham Arnold’s side into the world play-offs. Iraq won 2-1 in Basra, securing a 3-2 victory in their second match of the Asian playoffs.
Iraq’s only appearance at the World Cup was in 1986, when Arnold coached his native Australia to the last 16 of the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
New Caledonia are ranked 149th among FIFA’s 211 member countries, making them the last team in the playoffs.
New Caledonia defeated Tahiti 3-0 in March, effectively making the play-offs, but lost to New Zealand in the Oceania qualifying final. Johan Sidaner’s side have played just one game since defeating Gibraltar in a friendly last month.
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