New York [US], April 2: Lions of Mesopotamia defeat Bolivia in play-off to become 48th and final team at first edition of expanded finals FIFA
Iraq were the last team to qualify, defeating Bolivia 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament at Monterrey Stadium, Mexico, on Tuesday to earn the final spot in Group I alongside France, Senegal and Norway and bring to an end a global qualifying campaign that totalled 899 matches over 937 days.
A day of high drama began in Europe where from Zenica to Solna, Pristina to Prague, the remaining four of the continent's 16 representatives were decided. Czechia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkiye and Sweden came through gripping play-off games to claim a place in FIFA World Cup 2026 Groups A (Czechia), B (Bosnia and Herzegovina), D (Turkiye), and F (Sweden) respectively.
The focus then switched across the Atlantic to Mexico where the FIFA World Cup 2026 co-hosts provided the stage on which the remaining two places were determined. Fans of DR Congo can now look forward to seeing their team play Portugal on 17 June in Houston, Texas after they defeated Jamaica 1-0 in Guadalajara to clinch the final spot in Group K.
It was fitting that the final berth at the FIFA World Cup 2026 came down to a match between Iraq and Bolivia. Iraq (21) played the most matches throughout qualifying, with Bolivia - as well as United Arab Emirates and Indonesia - featuring in 20. Iraq's Aymen Hussein netted the last of the global qualifying campaign's 2,527 goals, which were scored at an average of 2.8 goals per game, as a journey that started on 7 September 2023 came to an end.
Ali Al Hamadi headed Iraq in front after 10 minutes, Moises Paniagua equalizing seven minutes before the break.
But a goal from Aymen Hussein early in the second half sent Iraq to their first World Cup since 1986 to complete a group featuring France, Norway and Senegal.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Offs also served as the ideal dress rehearsal for the venues in Guadalajara and Monterrey, which will host eight FIFA World Cup 2026 games between them, as they welcomed a total of 163,799 fans for four matches over the two matchdays.
Now, an unprecedented cast of 48 teams can prepare for the 104 matches that will be played across the 16 Host Cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States from 11 June to 19 July.
More than six million fans are expected at the tournament. Additionally, an estimated six billion people globally are expected to engage with the competition through various mediums.
In addition to the groups being finalised and the match schedule confirmed, the kick-off time for the match between Turkiye and Paraguay on 19 June in San Francisco Bay Area has been moved one hour earlier. As a result, the preceding match between Brazil and Haiti in Philadelphia has been moved 30 minutes earlier.
Source: Qatar Tribune
