It’s now official: Italy will have to navigate the March playoffs to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup. The list of possible opponents is set, and two old nightmares reappear: Sweden and North Macedonia.

The playoffs will include the twelve runners-up from the qualifying groups plus the four best Nations League 2024/25 group winners that have not yet earned direct qualification. The draw will take place on 20 November at 1 p.m., placing the sixteen teams into four paths (A, B, C and D). Each path features a single-leg semifinal and final, with only the winner advancing to the World Cup in Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Teams are assigned to four pots: the group runners-up based on the November 2025 FIFA ranking, while the Nations League entrants automatically go into the fourth pot. Semifinals match the first pot against the fourth, and the second pot against the third. Higher-seeded teams play at home.

Italy, placed in the top pot alongside Denmark, Turkey, and Ukraine, will host a semifinal against one of the fourth-pot teams: Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, or North Macedonia. A potential final would be against a team from the second or third pot—Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland, Bosnia, Albania, or Kosovo.