World Cup Play-Off Pots Confirmed As Wales And Ireland Learn Potential Opponents

The full list of qualified nations for the European section of World Cup draw have been confirmed - with Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland all knowing who they could face in the semi-finals.

A total of 16 teams will compete in the UEFA play-offs - a combination of 12 second-placed nations and the four highest-ranked Nations League winners that hadn't already finished in the top two.

Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland assured their spot in the play-offs before Tuesday's fixtures, with Republic of Ireland finishing second in their group after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Hungary on Sunday.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, finished third in their group but their Nations League group victory was enough to qualify them for the play-offs.

Wales thrashed North Macedonia 7-1 on Tuesday to finish in second in their group and qualify for the play-offs, but like Northern Ireland, would have been assured a spot regardless via the Nations League.

Into injury time in their match, Scotland were staring the play-offs in the face when drawing 2-2 with Denmark - a match they had to win to qualify automatically.

They had twice taken the lead through Scott McTominay's bicycle kick and Lawrence Shankland, with Rasmus Hojlund and Patrick Dorgu scoring for the 10-man Danes.

But Kieran Tierney curled the ball in - via the aid of a slight deflection - from 20 yards to secure Scotland an automatic World Cup spot, with midfielder Kenny McLean scoring from the halfway line to add further gloss on a 4-2 win.

THIS is how Scotland qualify for a World Cup.

Take a bow, Kenny McLean. #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/b9OB6FVbFR

— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) November 18, 2025

After the completion of Tuesday's fixtures, Twitter account Football Rankings have confirmed the exact pots for the UEFA play-off draw.

The 16 teams will be split into four brackets, with each comprising of two semi-finals and a final.

Italy will headline pot one, alongside Denmark, Turkey and Ukraine.

They will contest a semi-final against one of four teams in pot four - Sweden, Romania, Northern Ireland and North Macedonia, who could have been in pot two or three by beating Wales.

Wales are both in pot two, along with Czechia, Slovakia and Poland - who would have been in pot one without Scotland's late heroics.

Their potential semi-final opponents will come from pot three, which holds Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Ireland, Kosovo and Albania.

There is, therefore, the prospect of either Wales or Scotland taking on Republic of Ireland for a spot at the 2026 World Cup.

🚨 UEFA PLAY-OFFS ARE SET!

1⃣ POT 1: 🇮🇹 🇩🇰 🇹🇷 🇺🇦
2⃣ POT 2: 🇵🇱 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇨🇿 🇸🇰
3⃣ POT 3: 🇮🇪 🇦🇱 🇧🇦 🇽🇰
4⃣ POT 4: 🇸🇪 🇷🇴 🇲🇰 🍀

💥 Pot 1 host Pot 4, Pot 2 host Pot 3!
🔮 Draw on Thursday at 13:00 CET! pic.twitter.com/sS3E0TvGH3

— Football Rankings (@FootRankings) November 18, 2025

The UEFA play-off draw takes place on Thursday, November 20 from UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Teams face a relatively long wait to contest the matches, with the semi-finals taking place on March 26 before the finals on March 31.

Overall, the play-off competition will determine four additional qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, with the main draw for the tournament taking place on December 5 from the US capital of Washington D.C.