World Cup 2026 play-off draw: Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland discover their opponents | Football

Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland have discovered their fate after the draw was made for the World Cup play-offs, with just two games separating the three hopefuls from a shot at glory next summer.

There would undoubtedly have been a few nerves among fans watching on as the names were plucked out at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich for both the UEFA and inter-confederation draws this afternoon.

Northern Ireland were handed arguably the toughest draw of the three nations, with Michael O’Neill’s men set for a one-legged semi-final tie away to four-time world champions Italy.

The Republic of Ireland will also be doing battle on foreign soil for their semi-final after being drawn against the Czech Republic, while Wales will play host to Bosnia and Herzegovina in four months’ time.

Should they advance from their respective semi-finals, Northern Ireland and Wales would then lock horns in Path A’s play-off final on March 31.

The Republic of Ireland will face either Denmark or North Macedonia should they get the better of Czech Republic.

‘Northern Ireland? They’re a physical team and they never give up,’ Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso – who was in attendance in Switzerland – said of his side’s semi-final opponents.

‘We have to compete well, I’ve been saying it for the last three months.

‘We knew we had to get through the playoffs. We need to improve and we look forward with confidence.’

England safely secured passage to next year’s tournament with a perfect record in qualifying, winning eight from eight and scoring 22 goals without conceding once in Group K.

Scotland, meanwhile, romped to a famous 4-2 win over Denmark to join the Three Lions in the most dramatic fashion, with a pair of stunning late goals from Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean sending the Tartan Army into dreamland.

It will be the Scots’ first appearance at a World Cup finals since as far back as 1998, when they were managed by the late Craig Brown.

But neighbours Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland must qualify the hard way for next year’s showpiece in the USA, Mexico and Canada after failing to seal top spot in their respective qualifying groups.

Northern Ireland ended up third in Group A – behind Germany and Slovakia – but find themselves in contention via the play-offs due to their Nations League performance.

Craig Bellamy’s Wales, meanwhile, finished runners-up to Belgium in Group J after edging out Liechtenstein and thumping North Macedonia in their final group-stage matches.

In Group F, the Republic of Ireland left it until the sixth minute of stoppage time to pip Hungary to a play-off spot, with Troy Parrott completing an incredible hat-trick to keep the men in green in the mix.

How the World Cup play-offs work

The play-offs consist of a semi-final and a final, with 16 teams in the mix and each round decided over one leg.

The 12 group-stage runners-up and the four top-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners – those that have not already qualified – will be in the draw.

The semi-finals are set to start on March 26 and the final will be held five days later on March 31.

World Cup schedule

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