2026 World Cup playoffs: Italy already feeling the fear

Qualified to compete in the 2026 World Cup playoffs, Italy is already dreading another absence from football’s biggest stage.

The playoff format, unchanged in principle, features four separate mini-brackets with single-leg semifinals and finals. Italy, seeded in Pot 1 thanks to its FIFA ranking, will enjoy the advantage of hosting its semifinal at home. The Azzurri will face one of four teams given a second chance via the 2024/25 Nations League: Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, or North Macedonia.

This draw already sends a chill down the spine of many Italians, given the presence of Sweden—Italy’s tormentor in 2017—and North Macedonia, who famously knocked them out in Palermo in 2022, recalling two of the darkest chapters in recent Italian football history. With one of these nations standing in the way of the Nazionale, the match would instantly take on an immense psychological dimension—an anticipated rematch, but above all, a feared one. Should Italy clear this first hurdle, the final would present an even tougher opponent, drawn from the teams in Pot 2 or Pot 3.

Among those possible opponents are battle-hardened sides who know what it takes to deliver in these moments: Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, a Wales team fresh off a resounding 7-1 victory, the Czech Republic, or Slovakia. Meanwhile, Ireland, Bosnia, Albania, and Kosovo make up Pot 3—outsiders not to be underestimated. In short, nothing will be easy, guaranteed, or even comfortable for Italy when the playoffs kick off in March 2026.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.