INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA — Twelve teams will compete in FIFA World Cup playoff matches on Tuesday to determine the final six qualifying spots for the 2026 tournament. The single-match playoffs represent the last stage of World Cup qualification, with the winners securing places in a field that has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

Among the confirmed matchups, Kosovo will play Turkey, DR Congo will face Jamaica, Iraq will play Bolivia, and Denmark will take on the Czech Republic. Sweden and Poland will also compete in playoff matches.

Several of the competing nations have lengthy absences from the tournament. DR Congo last qualified for the World Cup in 1974, when the nation was known as Zaire. Iraq's most recent World Cup appearance came in 1986, while Bolivia last participated in 1994. Kosovo, which played its first official international football match in 2014, has never qualified for a World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup will open on June 11 with a match between Mexico and South Africa. The tournament will use a format featuring 12 groups of four teams, a structure decided by FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Under that format, the top two teams in each group plus the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the knockout stage.

The 12-group format differs from the previous World Cup structure of eight groups of four teams. It will require 72 group-stage matches to eliminate 16 teams, compared with 48 group-stage matches under the earlier format.

The expansion of the World Cup field was first approved by the FIFA Council in January 2017. The original plan called for 16 groups of three teams and included provisions to maintain the 32-day tournament duration, ensure no reduction in rest days, and limit teams reaching the final to a maximum of seven matches.

A study that evaluated four expansion options — examining sporting balance, competition quality, football development, infrastructure, financial projections, and event delivery — concluded that 16 groups of three teams was the best option. Infantino chose the 12-groups-of-four format instead.