User:Bmf 051/sandbox/2024–25 FIFA Nations League

The FIFA Nations League is an idea for a new international tournament, and a new format for World Cup qualifying. The idea is to: 1) Introduce a new "Nations League" tournament, based on the home-and-away model, to compliment the neutral venue format of the FIFA World Cup; 2) Add more competitive, evenly-matched matches for all FIFA members; 3) Give smaller countries a path (albeit a difficult one) to the World Cup; 4) Make FIFA World Cup qualifying more merit-based (Note: this is not mutually exclusive from #3); 5) Give all countries a suitably long World Cup qualifying campaign, instead of only guaranteeing that for larger countries; 6) Give all countries a realistic opportunity to win an international tournament; 7) Create a simpler ranking system, in the sense that teams are ranked and seeded solely based on performance in the previous Nations League/World Cup cycle, rather than using the current FIFA ranking system that is arbitrary and has been subject to nearly constant modification.

The Nations League splits FIFA members into 5 leagues based on the August 2021 FIFA rankings (the only time the FIFA rankings are used in this model), which will then uses a promotion-relegation system to transfer teams between leagues each season based on their performance. Generally speaking, the leagues were initially split based on the rankings as follows: teams ranked 1–48 in League 1; 49–96 in League 2; 97 to 144 in League 3; 145–188 in League 4; and 188 and lower in League 5. Leagues 1 to 4 are split into 8 groups of six (or in some instances, 5 or 7) teams. League 5 is comprised of only 4 groups. Each group contains teams from one of four "regions". The number of groups from each region in a particular league varies, based on the relative strength of the region. In order to give all countries a path to higher leagues while maintaining competitive balance between groups in the same league, some regions contain teams from multiple confederations: the Americas region consists of teams from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF while the Asian-Pacific region consists of teams from the AFC and OFC. On the other hand, the European region features only teams from UEFA, while African region teams only come from CAF. The general path to the World Cup for all teams consists of: 1) Competing in a group stage against teams from the same region and of a similar caliber; 2) Direct qualification to the World Cup for the best teams in the higher leagues; 3) A series of play-off rounds for lower ranked teams from higher leagues and higher ranked teams from lower leagues, with the higher league teams entering the play-offs at later rounds.

Below is a simulation of one Nations League season and World Cup cycle, using the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is a psuedo-random simulation, using the World Football Elo Ratings as the basis for its probability model.

Group stage

League 1

League 1 consists of eight groups: 1 group made-up of African (CAF) teams, 2 groups of teams from the Americas (CONCACAF/CONMEBOL), 1 group of Asian-Pacific teams (AFC/OFC), and 4 groups of European teams (UEFA). The winners of each group advance to the League 1 Finals. The top 3 teams in each group qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while teams finishing 4th–6th qualify for the World Cup play-offs.

Group 1A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Morocco	10	5	3	2	15	11	+4	18	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	2–0	0–1	0–0	2–2	2–1
2	Algeria	10	5	3	2	15	12	+3	18	World Cup		1–3	—	4–3	1–0	4–1	0–0
3	Senegal	10	3	4	3	12	15	−3	13			1–1	0–0	—	0–5	0–2	2–2
4	Tunisia	10	3	3	4	12	9	+3	12	Third play-off round		1–2	0–1	0–0	—	1–1	3–1
5	Nigeria	10	2	4	4	13	20	−7	10	Relegation to League 2 and Second play-off round		3–1	2–2	1–3	1–2	—	0–5
6	Egypt	10	2	3	5	13	13	0	9			1–2	1–2	0–2	2–0	0–0	—

Source: FIFA

Group 1B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uruguay	10	6	2	2	14	7	+7	20	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	0–0	5–1	1–0	2–1	0–1
2	Brazil	10	5	4	1	18	3	+15	19	World Cup		1–2	—	0–0	2–0	0–0	6–1
3	Mexico	10	4	3	3	15	11	+4	15			2–1	0–0	—	4–1	6–0	1–0
4	Paraguay	10	4	0	6	11	17	−6	12	Third play-off round		0–1	0–5	2–0	—	2–0	3–1
5	Jamaica	10	2	3	5	4	14	−10	9	Second play-off round		0–0	0–2	1–0	0–1	—	2–1
6	Chile	10	2	2	6	9	19	−10	8	Relegation play-offs and Second play-off round		1–2	0–2	1–1	3–2	0–0	—

Source: FIFA
Notes:

Group 1C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colombia	10	8	2	0	19	5	+14	26	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	2–1	4–3	1–1	3–0	4–0
2	Argentina	10	6	0	4	16	10	+6	18	World Cup		0–1	—	0–1	4–1	2–0	3–0
3	Peru	10	4	2	4	20	13	+7	14			0–0	0–1	—	2–1	5–0	4–0
4	United States	10	3	3	4	16	18	−2	12			0–2	2–3	2–1	—	4–1	2–2
5	Venezuela	10	2	2	6	11	22	−11	8	Second play-off round		0–1	3–1	3–3	0–1	—	3–1
6	Costa Rica	10	1	3	6	8	22	−14	6	Relegation play-offs and Second play-off round		0–1	0–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	—

Source: FIFA
Notes:

Group 1D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	10	5	4	1	12	6	+6	19	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–2
2	Japan	10	5	3	2	17	9	+8	18	World Cup		0–2	—	0–0	3–1	4–0	4–0
3	Iran	10	3	5	2	12	7	+5	14			0–1	2–0	—	1–1	0–2	5–0
4	South Korea	10	3	4	3	13	14	−1	13	Third play-off round		0–1	1–1	1–1	—	3–2	4–0
5	Qatar	10	3	1	6	13	19	−6	10	Relegation to League 2 and Second play-off round		0–2	2–3	2–2	1–2	—	2–1
6	Saudi Arabia	10	1	3	6	8	20	−12	6			1–1	0–0	0–1	4–0	0–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 1E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	10	8	2	0	26	8	+18	26	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–0	4–1
2	Portugal	10	5	2	3	29	17	+12	17	World Cup		1–3	—	6–1	4–1	5–1	4–1
3	Wales	10	4	2	4	16	15	+1	14			1–1	2–1	—	4–2	0–1	6–0
4	Czech Republic	10	4	1	5	10	15	−5	13	Third play-off round		1–2	3–2	0–0	—	1–0	1–0
5	Croatia	10	3	2	5	8	18	−10	11	Second play-off round		0–3	2–2	1–0	0–1	—	2–1
6	Romania	10	1	1	8	7	23	−16	4	Relegation play-offs and Second play-off round		1–2	0–1	1–2	1–0	1–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 1F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	10	7	2	1	24	13	+11	23	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	3–2	2–0	2–3	2–0	7–4
2	Switzerland	10	7	1	2	22	7	+15	22	World Cup		0–0	—	6–0	2–0	3–0	2–0
3	England	10	7	0	3	25	15	+10	21			1–2	3–0	—	3–1	3–1	7–3
4	Poland	10	4	1	5	12	15	−3	13	Third play-off round		1–2	0–1	0–3	—	2–1	3–0
5	Slovakia	10	1	1	8	6	20	−14	4	Second play-off round		0–2	1–2	0–3	0–1	—	0–0
6	Turkey	10	0	3	7	12	31	−19	3	Relegation play-offs and Second play-off round		2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–3	—

Source: FIFA

Group 1G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	10	7	2	1	27	6	+21	23	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	1–1	4–0	7–1	4–0	4–0
2	Netherlands	10	4	5	1	17	10	+7	17	World Cup		2–2	—	1–3	1–1	4–1	3–0
3	Serbia	10	5	1	4	14	15	−1	16			0–1	0–2	—	2–1	2–1	3–0
4	Sweden	10	4	3	3	16	17	−1	15	Third play-off round		0–1	2–2	1–1	—	4–1	1–0
5	Ukraine	10	4	0	6	15	22	−7	12	Second play-off round		2–1	0–1	4–2	0–2	—	2–0
6	Norway	10	0	1	9	4	23	−19	1	Relegation play-offs and Second play-off round		0–2	0–0	0–1	2–3	2–4	—

Source: FIFA

Group 1H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	10	9	1	0	20	4	+16	28	League 1 Finals and World Cup		—	2–1	2–1	1–0	2–1	5–0
2	Denmark	10	5	2	3	16	8	+8	17	World Cup		0–2	—	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–0
3	Germany	10	5	2	3	13	10	+3	17			0–2	0–4	—	3–0	2–0	1–0
4	Austria	10	3	3	4	8	12	−4	12	Third play-off round		1–2	1–0	1–1	—	1–0	2–1
5	Hungary	10	2	1	7	8	14	−6	7	Second play-off round		0–2	0–2	0–1	1–1	—	4–0
6	Russia	10	1	1	8	4	21	−17	4	Relegation play-offs and Second play-off round		0–0	1–3	0–3	2–0	0–2	—

Source: FIFA

Ranking of League 1 group winners

The eight League 1 group winners will advance to the League 1 Finals. The top 4 teams will be seeded and the bottom 4 will be unseeded. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team for the quarter-finals, with the seeded team hosting the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	1H	Italy	10	9	1	0	20	4	+16	28	Seeded for League 1 Finals
2	1E	France	10	8	2	0	26	8	+18	26
3	1C	Colombia	10	8	2	0	19	5	+14	26
4	1G	Belgium	10	7	2	1	27	6	+21	23
5	1F	Spain	10	7	2	1	24	13	+11	23	Unseeded for League 1 Finals
6	1B	Uruguay	10	6	2	2	14	7	+7	20
7	1D	Australia	10	5	4	1	12	6	+6	19
8	1A	Morocco	10	5	3	2	15	11	+4	18

Source: FIFA

Rankings for League 1 relegation play-offs

The sixth-placed teams in the two Americas groups (Groups B and C) will play a relegation play-off with the losers being relegated to League 2. The team with the better group record will be seeded and will host the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	1B	Chile	10	2	2	6	9	19	−10	8	Seeded for relegation play-off
2	1C	Costa Rica	10	1	3	6	8	22	−14	6	Unseeded for relegation play-off

Source: FIFA

The 4 sixth-placed teams from the European groups (Groups E–H) will be drawn into two relegation play-off semi-finals with the loser being relegated to League 2. The winners of the semi-finals advance to the relegation play-off final with the loser also being relegated to League 2. The top 2 teams will be seeded and the bottom 2 will be unseeded. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team in the semi-finals, with the seeded team hosting the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	1E	Romania	10	1	1	8	7	23	−16	4	Seeded for relegation play-offs
2	1H	Russia	10	1	1	8	4	21	−17	4
3	1F	Turkey	10	0	3	7	12	31	−19	3	Unseeded for relegation play-offs
4	1G	Norway	10	0	1	9	4	23	−19	1

Source: FIFA

League 2

League 2 consists of eight groups: 2 groups made-up of African (CAF) teams, 1 group of teams from the Americas (CONCACAF/CONMEBOL), 2 groups of Asian-Pacific teams (AFC/OFC), and 3 groups of European teams (UEFA). The winners of each group advance to the League 2 Finals and qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the group runners-up qualify for the World Cup play-offs.

Group 2A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Africa	10	5	3	2	18	8	+10	18	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	1–2	3–0	5–0	3–1	3–1
2	Ghana	10	5	2	3	17	11	+6	17	Third play-off round		2–0	—	3–0	2–3	3–2	1–1
3	DR Congo	10	4	4	2	19	13	+6	16			1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	3–3
4	Gabon	10	4	0	6	13	24	−11	12			0–1	0–3	0–5	—	3–1	4–1
5	Uganda	10	3	2	5	14	17	−3	11	Relegation to League 3		1–1	1–0	0–2	3–1	—	4–1
6	Mali	10	2	3	5	13	21	−8	9			0–0	2–0	1–4	1–2	2–0	—

Source: FIFA

Group 2B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ivory Coast	10	6	1	3	12	13	−1	19	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	1–2	2–1	0–0	1–5	2–1
2	Cameroon	10	5	1	4	15	13	+2	16	Third play-off round		0–1	—	1–0	6–0	0–3	0–6
3	Guinea	10	4	2	4	17	17	0	14			4–1	1–0	—	1–0	3–2	1–1
4	Cape Verde	10	4	1	5	9	15	−6	13			0–1	0–4	2–1	—	2–1	3–0
5	Benin	10	4	0	6	19	16	+3	12	Relegation to League 3		0–2	1–2	5–2	1–0	—	0–2
6	Burkina Faso	10	3	3	4	15	13	+2	12			0–1	0–0	3–3	0–2	2–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 2C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Canada	10	6	3	1	23	9	+14	21	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	2–2	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–1
2	Ecuador	10	5	5	0	18	8	+10	20	Third play-off round		2–1	—	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–2
3	Honduras	10	3	5	2	13	13	0	14			0–0	1–1	—	0–0	2–0	5–1
4	Panama	10	2	4	4	7	15	−8	10			0–4	0–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–0
5	Curaçao	10	2	2	6	12	18	−6	8			1–3	1–1	1–2	0–1	—	1–0
6	El Salvador	10	2	1	7	11	21	−10	7	Relegation to League 3		1–2	0–0	4–1	2–0	0–4	—

Source: FIFA
Notes:

Group 2D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Vietnam	10	5	1	4	16	13	+3	16	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	3–2	2–0	3–2	1–3	3–1
2	United Arab Emirates	10	4	2	4	18	16	+2	14	Second play-off round		1–0	—	4–0	0–1	2–1	5–3
3	Syria	10	4	2	4	17	19	−2	14			2–1	3–1	—	3–1	2–0	2–2
4	Lebanon	10	4	2	4	13	15	−2	14			1–0	1–1	3–3	—	2–1	2–1
5	Kyrgyzstan	10	4	1	5	14	14	0	13			0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	—	1–1
6	Oman	10	3	4	3	15	16	−1	13	Relegation to League 3		1–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	—

Source: FIFA

Group 2E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	China	10	5	3	2	13	11	+2	18	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	2–1	1–0	2–0	2–0	1–4
2	Jordan	10	5	2	3	21	14	+7	17	Third play-off round		3–1	—	3–0	1–0	2–2	5–1
3	Uzbekistan	10	4	3	3	8	9	−1	15			1–1	0–0	—	1–0	1–1	2–0
4	Iraq	10	3	3	4	13	12	+1	12			2–2	4–2	0–1	—	2–2	2–0
5	Palestine	10	2	4	4	14	16	−2	10			0–1	1–2	1–2	0–0	—	4–3
6	Bahrain	10	3	1	6	15	22	−7	10	Relegation to League 3		0–0	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	—

Source: FIFA

Group 2F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Scotland	10	5	4	1	16	5	+11	19	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	4–1	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–0
2	Iceland	10	4	5	1	10	9	+1	17	Third play-off round		1–0	—	0–0	1–1	0–0	0–0
3	Georgia	10	4	2	4	14	12	+2	14			0–0	0–1	—	2–1	1–0	1–2
4	Belarus	10	3	2	5	17	16	+1	11			1–1	2–3	2–1	—	1–3	4–1
5	Bulgaria	10	3	2	5	9	14	−5	11			1–1	1–2	1–4	1–0	—	0–3
6	Montenegro	10	2	3	5	8	18	−10	9	Relegation play-offs		0–0	1–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	—

Source: FIFA

Group 2G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	10	9	1	0	21	6	+15	28	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	2–0	3–2	1–0	1–1	4–0
2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10	6	1	3	17	11	+6	19	Third play-off round		1–2	—	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–0
3	Armenia	10	5	0	5	20	18	+2	15			0–2	2–1	—	1–0	6–1	3–4
4	Finland	10	3	1	6	18	13	+5	10			1–2	1–1	2–3	—	4–1	4–0
5	Albania	10	2	2	6	10	20	−10	8			0–1	0–4	3–0	2–0	—	0–0
6	Luxembourg	10	2	1	7	8	26	−18	7	Relegation play-offs		1–3	1–2	0–2	0–5	2–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 2H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Israel	10	5	1	4	19	12	+7	16	Promotion to League 1, League 2 Finals, and World Cup		—	2–0	2–4	3–2	1–2	1–2
2	Republic of Ireland	10	5	1	4	16	14	+2	16	Third play-off round		1–4	—	3–0	4–1	2–3	2–1
3	Cyprus	10	5	1	4	15	18	−3	16			1–0	2–0	—	3–4	1–4	2–1
4	North Macedonia	10	4	3	3	15	18	−3	15			0–5	0–0	3–0	—	1–1	1–1
5	Northern Ireland	10	4	1	5	13	12	+1	13			0–1	0–2	1–2	0–1	—	2–0
6	Slovenia	10	2	3	5	8	12	−4	9	Relegation play-offs		0–0	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	—

Source: FIFA

Ranking of League 2 group winners

The eight League 2 group winners will advance to the League 2 Finals. The top 4 teams will be seeded and the bottom 4 will be unseeded. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team for the quarter-finals, with the seeded team hosting the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	2G	Greece	10	9	1	0	21	6	+15	28	Seeded for League 2 Finals
2	2C	Canada	10	6	3	1	23	9	+14	21
3	2F	Scotland	10	5	4	1	16	5	+11	19
4	2B	Ivory Coast	10	6	1	3	12	13	−1	19
5	2A	South Africa	10	5	3	2	18	8	+10	18	Unseeded for League 2 Finals
6	2E	China	10	5	3	2	13	11	+2	18
7	2H	Israel	10	5	1	4	19	12	+7	16
8	2D	Vietnam	10	5	1	4	16	13	+3	16

Source: FIFA

Ranking of League 2 group runners-up

The eight League 2 group runners-up will advance to the World Cup play-offs. The top 7 runners-up will enter the third play-off round while the remaining runners-up will enter the second play-off round.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	2C	Ecuador	10	5	5	0	18	8	+10	20	Third play-off round
2	2G	Bosnia and Herzegovina	10	6	1	3	17	11	+6	19
3	2E	Jordan	10	5	2	3	21	14	+7	17
4	2A	Ghana	10	5	2	3	17	11	+6	17
5	2F	Iceland	10	4	5	1	10	9	+1	17
6	2H	Republic of Ireland	10	5	1	4	16	14	+2	16
7	2B	Cameroon	10	5	1	4	15	13	+2	16
8	2D	United Arab Emirates	10	4	2	4	18	16	+2	14	Second play-off round

Source: FIFA

Ranking for League 2 relegation play-offs

The 3 sixth-placed teams from the European groups (Groups F–H) will conduct a relegation play-off to decide which team is relegated to League 3. The teams will be seeded 1–3 based on their group records. The #1 seed will play the #2 seed in a relegation semi-final with the #1 seed hosting the second leg. The losers will play the #3 seed in the relegation play-off final with the #3 seed hosting the second leg. The losers of the final will be relegated to League 3.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	2H	Slovenia	10	2	3	5	8	12	−4	9	Relegation play-off semi-final (2nd leg at home)
2	2F	Montenegro	10	2	3	5	8	18	−10	9	Relegation play-off semi-final (1st leg at home)
3	2G	Luxembourg	10	2	1	7	8	26	−18	7	Relegation play-off final (2nd leg at home)

Source: FIFA

League 3

League 3 consists of eight groups: 4 groups made-up of African (CAF) teams, 1 group of teams from the Americas (CONCACAF/CONMEBOL), 2 groups of Asian-Pacific teams (AFC/OFC), and 1 group of European teams (UEFA). The winners of each group advance to the League 3 Finals and qualify for the 2026 World Cup play-offs.

Group 3A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sudan	10	5	5	0	17	5	+12	20	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second play-off round		—	4–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	3–0
2	Mauritania	10	5	3	2	11	14	−3	18			1–1	—	3–3	1–0	1–0	2–1
3	Kenya	10	4	5	1	19	12	+7	17			2–2	0–1	—	2–1	1–1	3–0
4	Guinea-Bissau	10	3	4	3	17	11	+6	13			0–0	4–0	2–2	—	1–1	4–1
5	Rwanda	10	2	5	3	11	15	−4	11			0–2	0–0	1–4	1–1	—	3–2
6	Burundi	10	0	0	10	9	27	−18	0	Relegation play-offs		0–2	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–3	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Central African Republic	10	7	1	2	19	15	+4	22	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second play-off round		—	2–1	1–3	2–1	2–1	2–1
2	Sierra Leone	10	6	2	2	20	10	+10	20			2–1	—	3–0	1–1	4–2	2–1
3	Malawi	10	5	3	2	14	10	+4	18			1–1	2–0	—	0–0	2–0	2–1
4	Zambia	10	3	2	5	12	19	−7	11			2–3	0–5	2–0	—	1–6	2–0
5	Lesotho	10	2	1	7	15	17	−2	7			1–2	0–1	2–2	2–0	—	0–1
6	Equatorial Guinea	10	2	1	7	9	18	−9	7	Relegation play-offs		2–3	1–1	0–2	0–3	2–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Madagascar	10	7	1	2	16	8	+8	22	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second play-off round		—	2–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	2–0
2	Namibia	10	5	2	3	19	11	+8	17			1–2	—	2–2	10	5–0	2–1
3	Togo	10	5	1	4	13	12	+1	16			1–0	0–2	—	2–1	4–0	1–0
4	Tanzania	10	4	3	3	11	9	+2	15			1–2	0–0	2–0	—	2–1	0–0
5	Angola	10	3	2	5	13	19	−6	11			1–2	2–1	3–0	0–0	—	5–2
6	Niger	10	1	1	8	9	22	−13	4	Relegation play-offs		1–4	1–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Congo	10	6	1	3	18	12	+6	19	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second play-off round		—	2–0	1–3	1–1	3–0	2–0
2	Zimbabwe	10	5	3	2	14	7	+7	18			2–1	—	1–1	0–0	6–0	1–1
3	Libya	10	5	2	3	14	9	+5	17			3–1	0–1	—	2–2	1–0	2–0
4	Mozambique	10	4	4	2	18	10	+8	16			1–2	1–0	1–2	—	3–1	1–1
5	Ethiopia	10	3	0	7	6	21	−15	9			1–3	0–1	1–0	0–4	—	2–0
6	Comoros	10	1	2	7	6	17	−11	5	Relegation play-offs		1–2	1–2	1–0	1–4	0–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bolivia	10	10	0	0	30	5	+25	30	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second qualifying round		—	3–1	2–1	2–1	4–0	4–1
2	Haiti	10	6	0	4	19	21	−2	18			0–4	—	3–2	4–0	2–0	3–0
3	Trinidad and Tobago	10	5	0	5	23	16	+7	15			0–2	7–1	—	3–1	2–3	4–1
4	Guatemala	10	4	1	5	17	17	0	13			0–2	4–1	0–1	—	4–1	2–0
5	Saint Kitts and Nevis	10	3	1	6	15	24	−9	10	Relegation to League 4		1–3	1–2	3–1	1–3	—	3–1
6	Antigua and Barbuda	10	0	2	8	7	28	−21	2			0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New Zealand	10	9	0	1	27	5	+22	27	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second qualifying round		—	4–1	2–1	4–0	1–0	3–0
2	Thailand	10	6	1	3	19	9	+10	19			0–2	—	1–1	3–0	1–0	2–0
3	North Korea	10	4	3	3	21	13	+8	15			1–2	0–5	—	1–1	1–1	6–0
4	Hong Kong	10	3	3	4	8	16	−8	12			0–6	1–0	1–2	—	0–0	0–0
5	Turkmenistan	10	3	2	5	10	13	−3	11	Relegation play-offs		2–0	0–2	0–2	0–4	—	6–2
6	Myanmar	10	0	1	9	3	32	−29	1	Relegation to League 4		0–3	1–4	0–6	0–1	0–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kuwait	10	6	3	1	19	8	+11	21	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second qualifying round		—	2–2	0–0	2–0	2–1	3–0
2	India	10	4	3	3	13	12	+1	15			2–0	—	0–2	2–1	1–3	0–2
3	Solomon Islands	10	4	3	3	11	13	−2	15			0–4	0–3	—	0–2	1–0	3–0
4	Tajikistan	10	4	2	4	15	12	+3	14			2–2	1–1	1–2	—	1–2	2–0
5	Philippines	10	3	2	5	12	14	−2	11	Relegation play-offs		0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	—	0–1
6	Chinese Taipei	10	2	1	7	7	18	−11	7	Relegation to League 4		1–2	0–1	2–2	0–2	1–3	—

Source: FIFA

Group 3H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Azerbaijan	10	6	1	3	18	15	+3	19	Promotion to League 2, League 3 Finals, and second qualifying round		—	2–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	3–1
2	Kosovo	10	5	3	2	14	10	+4	18			3–1	—	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–0
3	Estonia	10	5	1	4	14	7	+7	16			5–1	1–2	—	2–0	1–0	0–1
4	Lithuania	10	4	1	5	14	19	−5	13			2–0	4–1	2–0	—	2–1	2–2
5	Faroe Islands	10	3	2	5	17	18	−1	11			3–3	0–2	0–4	4–1	—	4–2
6	Kazakhstan	10	2	2	6	10	18	−8	8	Relegation to League 4		0–2	1–1	0–1	3–1	0–3	—

Source: FIFA

Ranking of League 3 group winners

The eight League 3 group winners will advance to the League 3 Finals. The top 4 teams will be seeded and the bottom 4 will be unseeded. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team for the quarter-finals, with the seeded team hosting the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	3E	Bolivia	10	10	0	0	30	5	+25	30	Seeded for League 3 Finals
2	3F	New Zealand	10	9	0	1	27	5	+22	27
3	3C	Madagascar	10	7	1	2	16	8	+8	22
4	3B	Central African Republic	10	7	1	2	19	15	+4	22
5	3G	Kuwait	10	6	3	1	19	8	+11	21	Unseeded for League 3 Finals
6	3A	Sudan	10	5	5	0	17	5	+12	20
7	3D	Congo	10	6	1	3	18	12	+6	19
8	3H	Azerbaijan	10	6	1	3	18	15	+3	19

Source: FIFA

Rankings for League 3 relegation play-offs

The 4 sixth-placed teams from the African groups (Groups A–D) will be drawn into two relegation play-offs with the losers being relegated to League 4. The top 2 teams will be seeded and the bottom 2 will be unseeded. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team, with the seeded team hosting the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	3B	Equatorial Guinea	10	2	1	7	9	18	−9	7	Seeded for relegation play-offs
2	3D	Comoros	10	1	2	7	6	17	−11	5
3	3C	Niger	10	1	1	8	9	22	−13	4	Unseeded for relegation play-offs
4	3A	Burundi	10	0	0	10	9	27	−18	0

Source: FIFA

The fifth-placed teams in the two Asian-Pacific groups (Groups F and G) will play a relegation play-off with the losers being relegated to League 4. The team with the better group record will be seeded and will host the second leg.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	3G	Philippines	10	3	2	5	12	14	−2	11	Seeded for relegation play-off
2	3F	Turkmenistan	10	3	2	5	10	13	−3	11	Unseeded for relegation play-off

Source: FIFA

League 4

League 4 consists of eight groups: 2 groups made-up of African (CAF) teams, 2 groups of teams from the Americas (CONCACAF/CONMEBOL), 3 groups of Asian-Pacific teams (AFC/OFC), and 1 group of European teams (UEFA). The winners of each group advance to the League 4 Finals and qualify for the 2026 World Cup play-offs.

Group 4A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Gambia	10	7	2	1	21	7	+14	23	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and first play-off round		—	3–3	2–1	2–0	5–0	2–0
2	Botswana	10	7	1	2	22	13	+9	22			2–1	—	0–2	2–1	4–0	4–1
3	South Sudan	10	5	2	3	16	9	+7	17			0–3	3–0	—	2–0	2–0	1–1
4	Seychelles	10	2	3	5	7	12	−5	9			0–1	1–2	1–1	—	0–0	1–0
5	Somalia	10	2	2	6	6	21	−15	8			1–2	1–3	1–4	1–1	—	1–0
6	Djibouti	10	1	2	7	4	14	−10	5			0–0	0–2	1–0	1–2	0–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Liberia	10	5	2	3	18	15	+3	17	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and first play-off round		—	1–2	0–3	1–1	0–5	8–1
2	São Tomé and Príncipe	10	5	2	3	11	10	+1	17			0–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–1
3	Eswatini	10	4	3	3	16	10	+6	15			2–3	2–0	—	0–1	1–2	4–1
4	Chad	10	2	8	0	10	7	+3	14			1–1	2–0	0–0	—	1–1	1–1
5	Eritrea	10	3	3	4	13	9	+4	12			0–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	—	2–0
6	Mauritius	10	0	4	6	8	25	−17	4			0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bermuda	8	6	1	1	16	5	+11	19	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and first play-off round		—	0–1	0–0	2–0	4–0
2	Guyana	8	5	0	3	9	13	−4	15			0–2	—	0–4	2–1	1–4
3	Barbados	8	3	2	3	12	10	+2	11			1–2	1–2	—	1–0	4–3
4	Belize	8	2	1	5	8	9	−1	7			0–2	0–1	1–1	—	5–0
5	Nicaragua	8	2	0	6	13	21	−8	6	Relegation to League 5		3–4	1–2	2–0	0–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Suriname	8	6	0	2	21	10	+11	18	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and first play-off round		—	7–1	1–0	2–1	4–0
2	Grenada	8	4	1	3	19	20	−1	13			5–1	—	3–1	0–3	4–2
3	Dominican Republic	8	3	1	4	9	11	−2	10			0–2	2–1	—	2–0	1–2
4	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	8	2	2	4	13	16	−3	8			3–0	4–4	1–3	—	0–4
5	Puerto Rico	8	2	2	4	9	14	−5	8	Relegation to League 5		0–3	0–1	0–0	1–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Malaysia	8	4	4	0	11	2	+9	16	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and first play-off round		—	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–0
2	Tahiti	8	3	4	1	13	6	+7	13			0–3	—	4–0	4–1	3–0
3	Fiji	8	3	3	2	10	6	+4	12			0–0	0–0	—	3–0	3–0
4	Nepal	8	2	1	5	7	14	−7	7			0–3	2–2	1–0	—	3–0
5	Cambodia	8	1	2	5	2	15	−13	5	Relegation play-offs		1–1	0–0	0–3	1–0	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Singapore	8	5	0	3	15	7	+8	15	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and first play-off round		—	2–1	2–0	2–0	6–0
2	Papua New Guinea	8	4	3	1	14	7	+7	15			2–0	—	1–1	3–1	4–1
3	Maldives	8	4	1	3	6	8	−2	13			1–0	0–1	—	1–1	1–0
4	Afghanistan	8	3	1	4	11	9	+2	10			3–0	1–1	2–0	—	2–0
5	Macau	8	1	1	6	5	20	−15	4	Relegation play-offs		0–3	1–1	1–2	2–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New Caledonia	8	6	1	1	21	4	+17	19	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and second play-off round		—	1–2	0–0	1–0	7–1
2	Yemen	8	5	0	3	18	14	+4	15			0–4	—	2–1	3–2	7–0
3	Vanuatu	8	4	2	2	16	9	+7	14			1–2	3–1	—	2–1	4–0
4	Indonesia	8	3	1	4	13	13	0	10			0–2	2–1	3–3	—	2–0
5	Mongolia	8	0	0	8	3	31	−28	0	Relegation play-offs		0–4	1–2	0–2	1–3	—

Source: FIFA

Group 4H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Malta	12	9	2	1	30	8	+22	29	Promotion to League 3, League 4 Finals, and second play-off round		—	3–0	2–0	4–3	2–1	3–0	3–0
2	Latvia	12	9	1	2	29	9	+20	28			1–0	—	5–1	2–0	5–0	4–1	3–0
3	Moldova	12	6	2	4	23	19	+4	20			1–7	4–0	—	0–1	2–1	5–1	3–0
4	Liechtenstein	12	5	2	5	14	16	−2	17			0–2	0–0	0–3	—	0–0	1–0	5–1
5	Andorra	12	3	4	5	13	17	−4	13			1–1	0–2	1–1	0–1	—	1–0	5–1
6	Gibraltar	12	3	2	7	14	20	−6	11			1–1	0–3	1–1	4–0	0–1	—	2–0
7	San Marino	12	0	1	11	4	38	−34	1			0–2	0–4	0–2	0–3	2–2	0–4	—

Source: FIFA

Ranking of League 4 group winners

The eight League 4 group winners will advance to the League 4 Finals and the World Cup play-offs. The bottom 4 teams will be unseeded and will enter the first play-off round. The remaining group winners will be seeded. The third and fourth-best group winners will enter the first play-off round as well while the top 2 will enter the second play-off round. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team for the quarter-finals, with the seeded team hosting the second leg. Due to the uneven number of teams in each group, games against teams ranked sixth or seventh in a group are not counted in this ranking. That is, the following matches weren't counted: Gambia 2–0 Djibouti, Djibouti 0–0 Gambia, Liberia 8–1 Mauritius, Mauritius 0–2 Liberia, Malta 3–0 Gibraltar, Gibraltar 1–1 Malta, Malta 3–0 San Marino, and San Marino 0–2 Malta.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	4G	New Caledonia	8	6	1	1	21	4	+17	19	Second play-off round and seeded for League 4 Finals
2	4H	Malta	8	6	1	1	21	7	+14	19
3	4A	Gambia	8	6	1	1	19	7	+12	19	First play-off round and seeded for League 4 Finals
4	4C	Bermuda	8	6	1	1	16	5	+11	19
5	4D	Suriname	8	6	0	2	21	10	+11	18	First play-off round and unseeded for League 4 Finals
6	4E	Malaysia	8	4	4	0	11	2	+9	16
7	4F	Singapore	8	5	0	3	15	7	+8	15
8	4B	Liberia	8	3	2	3	8	14	−6	11

Source: FIFA

Ranking for League 4 relegation play-offs

The 3 fifth-placed teams from the Asian-Pacific groups (Groups E–G) will conduct a relegation play-off to decide which two teams are relegated to League 5. The teams will be seeded 1–3 based on their group records. The #2 seed will play the #3 seed in a relegation semi-final with the #2 seed hosting the second leg. The losers will be relegated. The winners will play the #1 seed in the relegation play-off final with the #1 seed hosting the first leg. The losers of the final will also be relegated to League 5.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	4E	Cambodia	8	1	2	5	2	15	−13	5	Relegation play-off final (1st leg at home)
2	4F	Macau	8	1	1	6	5	20	−15	4	Relegation play-off semi-final (2nd leg at home)
3	4G	Mongolia	8	0	0	8	3	31	−28	0	Relegation play-off semi-final (1st leg at home)

Source: FIFA

League 5

League 5 consists of four groups: 2 group of teams from the Americas (CONCACAF/CONMEBOL) and 2 groups of Asian-Pacific teams (AFC/OFC). The winners of each group advance to the League 5 Finals and qualify for the 2026 World Cup play-offs.

Group 5A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Saint Lucia	10	6	3	1	31	11	+20	21	Promotion to League 4, League 5 Finals, and first play-off round		—	2–2	2–2	3–2	5–0	3–0
2	Aruba	10	5	4	1	21	7	+14	19			0–3	—	5–0	3–1	0–0	0–0
3	Cayman Islands	10	5	4	1	17	9	+8	19			1–1	0–0	—	3–1	4–0	3–0
4	Bahamas	10	4	1	5	19	16	+3	13			3–2	1–2	0–0	—	3–1	5–0
5	British Virgin Islands	10	2	1	7	6	26	−20	7			0–5	0–3	0–3	2–0	—	1–2
6	Anguilla	10	1	1	8	4	29	−25	4			1–5	0–6	0–1	0–3	1–2	—

Source: FIFA

Group 5B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cuba	8	6	1	1	21	8	+13	19	Promotion to League 4, League 5 Finals, and first play-off round		—	1–0	2–0	4–0	8–1
2	Dominica	8	4	3	1	18	3	+15	15			4–0	—	0–0	0–0	3–0
3	Montserrat	8	4	2	2	14	10	+4	14			2–2	0–3	—	6–2	3–0
4	Turks and Caicos Islands	8	1	2	5	6	17	−11	5			0–1	2–2	1–2	—	1–0
5	U.S. Virgin Islands	8	1	0	7	4	25	−21	3			1–3	0–6	0–1	2–0	—

Source: FIFA

Group 5C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Pakistan	10	8	0	2	24	7	+17	24	Promotion to League 4, League 5 Finals, and first play-off round		—	3–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	3–1
2	Samoa	10	5	2	3	14	10	+4	17			0–2	—	2–0	2–1	4–0	1–0
3	Brunei	10	4	3	3	16	12	+4	15			1–0	1–1	—	3–5	1–1	6–0
4	Cook Islands	10	3	3	4	12	17	−5	12			2–1	1–1	1–3	—	1–0	0–0
5	Guam	10	3	1	6	9	17	−8	10			1–3	2–0	1–2	2–0	—	1–0
6	Bhutan	10	1	3	6	6	18	−12	6			1–2	0–2	0–0	1–1	2–1	—

Source: FIFA

Group 5D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bangladesh	10	7	1	2	19	6	+13	22	Promotion to League 4, League 5 Finals, and first play-off round		—	3–0	1–1	0–1	6–0	2–0
2	Sri Lanka	10	6	1	3	19	16	+3	19			1–3	—	0–0	2–0	5–1	2–0
3	Laos	10	4	5	1	19	8	+11	17			1–2	5–2	—	1–1	4–0	0–0
4	East Timor	10	5	2	3	11	9	+2	17			0–1	1–2	1–1	—	2–1	1–0
5	Tonga	10	3	0	7	12	26	−14	9			2–0	2–3	1–4	1–2	—	1–0
6	American Samoa	10	0	1	9	1	16	−15	1			0–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	0–3	—

Source: FIFA

Ranking of League 5 group winners

The four League 5 group winners will advance to the League 5 Finals. The top 2 teams will be seeded and the bottom 2 will be unseeded. Each seeded team will be drawn against an unseeded team for the semi-finals, with the seeded team hosting the second leg. Due to the uneven number of teams in each group, games against teams ranked sixth in a group are not counted in this ranking. That is, the following matches were not counted: Saint Lucia 3–0 Anguilla, Anguilla 1–5 Saint Lucia, Pakistan 3–1 Bhutan, Bhutan 1–2 Pakistan, Bangladesh 2–0 American Samoa, American Samoa 0–1 Bangladesh.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	5B	Cuba	8	6	1	1	21	8	+13	19	Seeded for League 5 Finals
2	5C	Pakistan	8	6	0	2	19	5	+14	18
3	5D	Bangladesh	8	5	1	2	16	6	+10	16	Unseeded for League 5 Finals
4	5A	Saint Lucia	8	4	3	1	23	10	+13	15

Source: FIFA

Relegation play-offs

League 1 (Americas)

The two sixth-placed teams from Group 1B and Group 1C will meet in a two-legged tie. The winner remains in League 1 next season and loser is relegated to League 2.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Costa Rica	2–3	Chile	0–0	2–3

Chile remain in League 1. Costa Rica relegated to League 2.

League 1 (Europe)

The four sixth-placed teams from groups 1E, 1F, 1G, and 1H will meet in two-legged semi-finals. The losers of each semi-final will be relegated to League 2 next season while the winners will advance to the final. The losers of the final will also be relegated to League 2 while the winners will remain in League 1.

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Turkey	1–4	Russia	1–2	1–2
Norway	6–1	Romania	4–0	2–1

Final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Russia	4–1	Norway	1–0	3–1

Russia remain in League 1. Turkey, Romania, and Norway relegated to League 2.

League 2 (Europe)

The three sixth-placed teams from groups 2F, 2G, and 2H will meet in a two-legged semi-final and final. Two teams will meet in the semi-final with the winners remaining in League 2 and the losers advancing to the final. The winners of the final will also remain in League 2 while the losers will be relegated to League 3.

Semi-final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Montenegro	0–3	Slovenia	0–0	0–3

Final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Montenegro	3–2	Luxembourg	2–1	1–1

Slovenia and Montenegro remain in League 2. Luxembourg relegated to League 3.

League 3 (Africa)

The four sixth-placed teams from groups 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D will play in separate two-legged ties. The winners of each tie will remain in League 3 next season while the losers will be relegated to League 4.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Niger	5–2	Equatorial Guinea	2–0	3–2
Burundi	4–2	Comoros	2–0	2–2

Niger and Burundi remain in League 3. Equatorial Guinea and Comoros relegated to League 4.

League 3 (Asia-Pacific)

The two fifth-placed teams from Group 3F and Group 3G will meet in a two-legged tie. The winner remains in League 3 next season and loser is relegated to League 4.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Turkmenistan	3–2	Philippines	0–1	3–2

Turkmenistan remain in League 3. Philippines relegated to League 4.

League 4 (Asia-Pacific)

The three fifth-placed teams from groups 4E, 4F, and 4G will meet in a two-legged semi-final and final. Two teams will meet in the semi-final with the winners advancing to the final and the losers being relegated to League 5. The losers of the final will also be relegated to League 5 while the winners will remain in League 4.

Semi-final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Mongolia	0–2	Macau	0–1	0–1

Final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Cambodia	0–1	Macau	0–1	0–0

Macau remain in League 4. Mongolia and Cambodia relegated to League 5.

Finals

In each league, the first round (quarter-finals for Leagues 1–4 and semi-finals for League 5) matched each seeded team against an unseeded team, with the unseeded team hosting the first leg and the seeded team hosting the second. The initial draw also determined the seedings and home-field advantage for later rounds.

League 1 Finals

	Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Spain	2	1	3
	Belgium (a)	2	1	3
							Belgium	2	2	4
							Italy	0	0	0
	Australia	2	2	4
	Italy	3	5	8
													Belgium	1	1	2
													France	3	1	4
	Morocco	2	0	2
	France	6	4	10
							France	3	4	7			Third place
							Uruguay	1	2	3
	Uruguay	1	2	3									Italy (a)	1	1	3
	Colombia	0	1	1									Uruguay	0	2	3

League 2 Finals

	Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	South Africa	1	0	1
	Greece	1	3	4
							Greece	2	0	2
							Ivory Coast	1	4	5
	China	0	4	4
	Ivory Coast	1	4	5
													Ivory Coast (a)	1	3	4
													Canada	2	2	4
	Israel (p)	1	0	1 (5)
	Scotland	0	1	0 (4)
							Israel	1	1	2			Third place
							Canada	0	3	3
	Vietnam	1	0	1									Greece	4	2	6
	Canada	1	1	2									Israel	1	1	2

League 3 Finals

	Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Sudan	2	0	2
	Madagascar	1	0	1
							Sudan (a.e.t.)	2	1	3
							New Zealand	0	2	2
	Kuwait	0	0	0
	New Zealand	0	1	1
													Sudan	0	0	0
													Congo	0	3	3
	Azerbaijan	2	0	2
	Central African Republic	2	2	4
							Central African Republic	0	0	0			Third place
							Congo	0	2	2
	Congo	0	2	2									New Zealand	1	0	1
	Bolivia	1	0	1									Central African Republic (a)	1	0	1

League 4 Finals

	Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Malaysia	0	0	0
	Malta	0	2	2
							Malta	0	0	0
							Gambia	0	1	1
	Suriname	0	2	2
	Gambia	1	2	3
													Gambia	1	3	4
													Bermuda	0	1	1
	Liberia (a)	0	2	2
	New Caledonia	0	2	2
							Liberia	2	0	2			Third place
							Bermuda	1	3	4
	Singapore	1	0	1									Malta	1	1	2
	Bermuda	3	4	7									Liberia	1	0	1

League 5 Finals

	Semi-finals						Final
	Saint Lucia	1	2	3
	Cuba	2	2	4
							Cuba	1	0	1
							Pakistan	0	0	0
	Bangladesh	1	2	3
	Pakistan	3	2	5			Third place
							Saint Lucia (a)	2	5	7
							Bangladesh	4	3	7

World Cup Play-offs

The World Cup play-offs consist of three rounds, with the 15 winners of the third play-off round advancing to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, joining the 3 host nations and the 30 other teams who qualified through the Nations League group stage.

In each round, teams were split into two pots: seeded and unseed. Each seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team. Teams from the same confederation, zone, or league could be drawn against each other. However teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other (this was only possible in the third play-off round, and only involving teams from League 1). Some teams could not be drawn against each other for political reasons, like Russia and Ukraine. The unseeded team hosts the first leg and the seeded team hosts the second leg. The draw for each round was conducted at once, and thus the second and third play-off round draws took place before all the teams involved in those rounds were known. So the seeding in these cases was carried out under the assumption that the highest seeded team would advance from the previous round.

Seeding for each round of the play-offs was based off the following order of precedent: teams entering a particular round were ranked over teams advancing from the previous round, teams in higher leagues were ranked over teams from lower leagues, ranking within own group (4th, 5th, then 6th; this only applied for teams in League 1, as all other groups only had one team participating in the play-offs), match points (excluding matches against "extra" teams in Leagues 4 and 5, where group sizes are unequal), and finally the group stage tie-breakers in order.

First play-off round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Liberia	4–3	Suriname	4–0	0–3
Saint Lucia	0–6	Gambia	0–2	0–4
Bangladesh	1–4	Singapore	1–3	0–1
Cuba	2–1	Malaysia	2–1	0–0
Pakistan	1–2	Bermuda	0–0	1–2

Second play-off round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Madagascar	1–5	Croatia	1–2	0–3
New Caledonia	1–7	Nigeria	0–4	1–3
Singapore	1–7	Saudi Arabia	0–3	1–4
Congo	1–8	Qatar	1–5	0–3
Sudan	1–3	Egypt	0–0	1–3
Bermuda	1–6	Chile	1–4	0–2
New Zealand	3–6	Russia	1–3	2–3
Central African Republic	0–5	Norway	0–0	0–5
Liberia	1–8	Turkey	0–5	1–3
Kuwait	0–3	Jamaica	0–3	0–0
United Arab Emirates	0–0 (7–8 p)	Slovakia	0–0	0–0 (a.e.t.)
Cuba	0–7	Venezuela	0–3	0–4
Bolivia	5–3	Costa Rica	5–1	0–2
Azerbaijan	2–4	Romania	0–2	2–2
Malta	0–7	Ukraine	0–2	0–5
Gambia	1–8	Hungary	0–3	1–5

Third play-off round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Egypt	2–5	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–1	0–4
Saudi Arabia	5–3	Iceland	2–1	3–2
Slovakia	2–4	Czech Republic	1–3	1–1
Qatar	2–7	Sweden	0–4	2–3
Bolivia	1–6	Paraguay	0–4	1–2
Venezuela	3–3 (a)	Tunisia	3–2	0–1
Croatia	2–0	Republic of Ireland	2–0	0–0
Norway	1–3	Poland	0–1	1–2
Nigeria	3–1	Ukraine	2–1	1–0
Romania	0–6	Ecuador	0–2	0–4
Chile	4–3	Cameroon	4–2	0–1
Jamaica	4–3	Jordan	3–2	1–1
Turkey	0–1	Austria	0–1	0–0
Hungary	1–4	South Korea	0–2	1–2
Russia	6–3	Ghana	3–1	3–2

FIFA World Cup

The 48 qualifiers were split into three pots based on the following order of precedent: 1) The host nations were ranked ahead of all other teams, 2) Teams who qualified directly were ranked ahead of play-off winners, 3) Teams from higher leagues were ranked ahead of teams from lower leagues, 4) Teams were ranked based on their ranking from the FIFA Nations League.

Teams were drawn into 16 groups of three teams each, with each group consisting of one team from each pot. The United States were automatically placed into Group A, Canada into Group D, and Mexico into Group I. Unlike the Nations League draw (which was "regional", with some regions consisting of teams from two different confederations), the World Cup draw remains confederation based. Teams from the same confederation could not be drawn into the same group. The exception was UEFA teams, with each group having 1 or 2 teams from that confederation, due to the number of UEFA teams exceeding the number of groups (22 teams and only 16 groups).

World Cup group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States (H)	2	2	0	0	7	1	+6	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Greece	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2	3
3	Tunisia	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

United States	2–1	Tunisia

Tunisia	0–3	Greece

Greece	0–5	United States

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Peru	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Russia	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3
3	Algeria	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Algeria	0–1	Russia

Russia	0–1	Peru

Peru	3–0	Algeria

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Wales	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3
3	Poland	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Brazil	3–0	Poland

Poland	0–1	Wales

Wales	0–1	Brazil

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Ecuador	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	3
3	South Africa	2	0	0	2	4	7	−3	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Spain	2–0	Ecuador

Ecuador	4–2	South Africa

South Africa	2–3	Spain

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Croatia	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Canada (H)	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	3
3	Serbia	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Canada	3–0	Serbia

Serbia	0–1	Croatia

Croatia	3–1	Canada

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Argentina	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3
3	Nigeria	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Argentina	0–1	England

England	4–1	Nigeria

Nigeria	0–1	Argentina

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	1	0	1	7	5	+2	3
3	China	2	0	0	2	1	10	−9	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Italy	3–0	China

China	1–7	Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina	0–4	Italy

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	South Korea	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
3	Israel	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Belgium	3–0	Israel

Israel	1–2	South Korea

South Korea	0–1	Belgium

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	Sweden	2	1	0	1	6	2	+4	3
3	Mexico (H)	2	0	1	1	0	5	−5	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Mexico	0–5	Sweden

Sweden	1–2	Germany

Germany	0–0	Mexico

Group J

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	2	2	0	0	8	3	+5	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Morocco	2	1	0	1	7	3	+4	3
3	Saudi Arabia	2	0	0	2	1	10	−9	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Morocco	2–3	Portugal

Portugal	5–1	Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia	0–5	Morocco

Group K

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Senegal	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	Czech Republic	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2
3	Australia	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Australia	0–3	Senegal

Senegal	1–1	Czech Republic

Czech Republic	1–1	Australia

Group L

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Scotland	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Japan	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	3
3	Paraguay	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Japan	0–2	Scotland

Scotland	2–0	Paraguay

Paraguay	1–2	Japan

Group M

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uruguay	2	1	1	0	6	4	+2	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	Austria	2	1	1	0	5	4	+1	4
3	Ivory Coast	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Uruguay	3–3	Austria

Austria	2–1	Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast	1–3	Uruguay

Group N

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Chile	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	Iran	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2
3	Switzerland	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Switzerland	1–2	Chile

Chile	1–1	Iran

Iran	1–1	Switzerland

Group O

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Colombia	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
3	Jamaica	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Colombia	1–2	Denmark

Denmark	3–1	Jamaica

Jamaica	0–1	Colombia

Group P

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Netherlands	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	3
3	Vietnam	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

France	1–0	Netherlands

Netherlands	3–1	Vietnam

Vietnam	0–3	France

Knockout stage

	Round of 32				Round of 16				Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	United States	4
	Russia	0
					United States	3
					Brazil	1
	Brazil	3
	Ecuador	0
									United States	0
									Argentina	3
	Croatia	1
	Argentina	2
					Argentina	4
					South Korea	0
	Italy	0
	South Korea	2
													Argentina	3
													Uruguay	1
	Germany	2
	Morocco	0
					Germany	6
					Japan	1
	Senegal	0
	Japan	3
									Germany	1
									Uruguay	2
	Uruguay	2
	Iran	1
					Uruguay	4
					Denmark	0
	Denmark	5
	Netherlands	2
																	Argentina	4
																	France	2
	Peru	3
	Greece	1
					Peru (a.e.t.)	1
					Spain	0
	Spain	2
	Wales	0
									Peru	0
									Belgium	4
	England	2
	Canada	0
					England	2
					Belgium	3
	Belgium	3
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1
													Belgium	0
													France	2			Third place
	Portugal	4
	Sweden	0
					Portugal	1											Uruguay	0
					Czech Republic	0											Belgium	1
	Scotland	0
	Czech Republic	3
									Portugal	0
									France	1
	Chile	2
	Austria	4
					Austria	0
					France	1
	France	3
	Colombia	1

2030 FIFA World Cup

I followed this up with a simulation of the 2030 FIFA World Cup cycle here.