Published On 19/11/2025
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Last update: 12:35 (Mecca time)
Iraq qualified for the global qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup after a 3-2 victory over the UAE on aggregate from two home and away matches.
The “Mesopotamian Lions” team joined the Democratic Republic of Congo, representing Africa, New Caledonia, representing Oceania, Bolivia, representing South America, representatives of CONCACAF, and the last entrants to the global playoff, Suriname and Jamaica.
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Who will Iraq face in the global qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup?
The global qualifier for the 2026 World Cup will be held in March 2026 in Mexico, where the 4 lowest-ranked teams according to FIFA will meet face-to-face. The two qualifiers from the two matches will face the two highest-ranked teams, and the winners from the two final matches will deduct the last two qualifying spots for the 2026 World Cup.
According to last October’s FIFA classification, the classification of the 6 teams is:
- Iraq (57th place)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (60th place)
- Bolivia (76th place)
- Jamaica (68th place)
- Suriname (126th place)
- New Caledonia (150th place)
In the November rankings released today, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which defeated two higher-ranked teams, Cameroon and Nigeria, in the African playoff, is expected to outperform Iraq, which defeated the UAE, which is lower in the FIFA rankings.
This means, in a simple and direct way, that the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq qualify directly to the final, and the four teams will face each other, leaving two to emerge and advance to the two final matches of the global playoff.
The date of the draw for the global qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced that the date of the global playoff draw will be tomorrow, Thursday, November 20, to determine the matches.
The draw begins at three in the afternoon (15:00) Mecca, Doha and Iraq time.
Teams qualifying for the 2026 World Cup
42 teams are guaranteed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and 6 tickets remain, 4 for the European playoff and 2 for the global playoff, until the tournament is completed, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in the period between June 11 and July 19, 2026.
