FIFA World Cup™-winning duo Christian Karembeu and Marco Materazzi and Martin Dahlin, who was part of the Swedish side that clinched the final podium place at the 1994 edition of FIFA’s flagship tournament, have been announced as the assistants for the Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-Off Tournament and the European Play-Off Draw, which will take place this Thursday.

The draws will map out the paths the 22 competing nations – six in the FIFA play-off tournament and 16 in the European play-offs – will need to negotiate to qualify for the first 48-team FIFA World Cup and the maiden edition of the tournament to be co-hosted by three countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. The two draws will be staged back to back at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, this Thursday, with the Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26 Play-Off Tournament commencing at 13:00 CET, followed by the European Play-Off Draw.

Karembeu, who won the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ with hosts France, will be the assistant for the Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament, which will feature the former midfielder’s country of birth, New Caledonia (OFC), as well as Iraq (AFC), Congo DR (CAF), Jamaica and Suriname (Concacaf) and Bolivia (CONMEBOL).

Materazzi – a 2006 FIFA World Cup™ winner with Italy – will assist with the European Play-Off Draw alongside prolific ex-Sweden striker Dahlin, who scored four goals at the 1994 FIFA World Cup™ in the United States. Italy and Sweden will be among the 16 nations involved in the European play-offs, in addition to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Wales.

The draws will be presented by Melanie Winiger and conducted by Chief Tournament Officer (USA) Manolo Zubiria. The play-offs explained The six-nation FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament and the 16-team European play-offs will take place during the international match window to be staged from 23 to 31 March 2026. The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will feature two finals, in which the winners of the semi-finals contested by the unseeded teams will face the two seeded teams, with the nations that prevail in the finals securing their spots at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The European play-offs will be made up of 12 group runners-up and the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners. The 16 participating teams will be drawn into four play-off paths, each consisting of four teams. Each play-off path will be composed of two semi-final pairings of one seeded team and one unseeded team. Within each path, the teams will contest single-legged semi-finals, with the winners of the semi-finals progressing to single-legged finals to determine the final four UEFA representatives at the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will take place across 16 vibrant Host Cities from Thursday, 11 June to Sunday, 19 July 2026. Based on the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, the draw procedures for both the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament and European Play-Off Draw have been updated.

Click here to access the draw procedures for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament.

Click here to access the draw procedures for the European Play-Offs for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Fans around the world will be able to follow the draws live on FIFA.com, FIFA+ and via media partners.