The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup kicks off on June 11 when co-hosts Mexico play South Africa in Mexico City, but six qualification places are still up for grabs in the European and intercontinental playoffs.

The final qualified teams will be confirmed Tuesday with four European nations and the winners of the two intercontinental playoff finals sealing their spot in the Canada, Mexico and the United America this summer.

Kosovo will host Türkiye attempting to reach their first World Cup, and four-time world champions Italy must win at Bosnia and Herzegovina to avoid missing out on the finals for the third successive tournament.

Iraq (1986), Congo DR (as Zaire in 1974), Bolivia (1994) and Türkiye (2002) are all looking to end lengthy absences from the World Cup, but who will be victorious in the six qualification finals?

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EUROPE

PATH A
Winner enters World Cup Group B (Canada, Qatar, Switzerland)

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Italy (Zenica, Bosnia): Edin Dzeko‘s 86th-minute goal against Wales in Cardiff was the lifeline Bosnia needed to stay in the semifinal and take the game to penalties, which ended with a 4-2 shootout win for Sergej Barbarez’s team. At 40 years old, former Manchester City, AS Roma and Inter Milan striker Dzeko will become one of the oldest outfield players to appear at a World Cup if he can inspire Bosnia again in the final, but Italy will go into the game as strong favorites.

Gennaro Gattuso’s team overcame a nervous start to beat Northern Ireland 2-0 on Bergamo in Thursday’s semifinal and that victory has boosted morale in Italy following playoff heartbreak in 2018 and 2022. Bosnia have home advantage in Zenica at the hostile Stadium Bilino Polje, but Italy have the pedigree of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sandro Tonali and Manuel Locatelli, so they will have no excuses for another playoff failure.

Winners: Italy

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Laurens: Italy face tougher test against Bosnia and Herzegovina

Julien Laurens breaks down Bosnia and Herzegovina’s dramatic penalty win over Wales ahead of their World Cup showdown with Italy.

PATH B
Winner enters World Cup Group F (Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia)

Sweden vs. Poland (Stockholm, Sweden): Viktor Gyökeres almost single-handedly sealed Sweden’s place in the final with a hat trick in Thursday’s 3-1 semifinal win against Ukraine in Valencia. Sweden, now coached by former Chelsea and West Ham United boss Graham Potter, seriously underperformed during the qualifiers witha winless group campaign, but they now have a home game against Poland to book a place at the World Cup.

The Poles had to fight back from going a goal down against Albania in Warsaw before winning 2-1 with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski and they go into the Sweden game having run Netherlands close in their qualifying group. Recent form suggests that Poland will be favorites, but Sweden are at home and the confidence of a big win against Ukraine. It will be close, but Sweden will shade it — maybe even on penalties.

Winners: Sweden

PATH C
Winner enters World Cup Group D (United States, Paraguay, Australia)

Kosovo vs. Türkiye (Pristina, Kosovo): Though Türkiye’s semifinal against Romania went as expected with Vincenzo Montella’s team winning 1-0 through Ferdi Kadioglu‘s goal, Kosovo upset the odds with a 4-3 win away to Slovakia. Kosovo went into the playoffs as the lowest-ranked European nation still alive in the competition, sitting in 78th position between Israel and Oman in the FIFA World Ranking, but they dominated in Bratislava to seal a deserved victory.

Franco Foda’s team is young, bold and full of pace and energy, and they have the ability to shock a Türkiye team stacked with top talent including Arda Güler, Hakan Çalhanoglu and Kenan Yildiz. Türkiye have won the two previous meetings between the teams and will be favorites, but Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri will be rocking in Pristina on Tuesday, and a passionate atmosphere could tip the balance in Kosovo’s favor.

Winners: Kosovo

PATH D
Winner enters World Cup Group A (Mexico, South Korea, South Africa)

Czechia vs. Denmark (Prague, Czechia): Czechia looked dead and buried against the Republic of Ireland after finding themselves 2-0 down in Prague after 23 minutes, but Miroslav Koubek’s team fought back to take the game to penalties before winning 4-3 from the spot kicks.

But the Czechs will face a Denmark side that showed its quality with a 4-0 win against North Macedonia in Copenhagen, so the Danes will be strong favorites heading into the final. The questions about Denmark have nothing to do with their quality — coach Brian Riemer has Christian Eriksen, Rasmus Højlund and Christian Norgaard on his roster — but whether they can handle the pressure of being favorites. A draw against Belarus and defeat against Scotland saw them blow their hopes of automatic qualification, so will they feel the heat against the Czechs? That’s the danger for Denmark, but perhaps beating North Macedonia has proved their mettle.

Winners: Denmark

INTERCONTINENTAL PLAYOFFS

PATHWAY 1
Winner enters World Cup Group K (Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia)

Congo DR vs. Jamaica (Zapopan, Mexico): Jamaica toiled to a 1-0 win against rank outsiders New Caledonia in the semifinal, so they will have to step up several levels to have any hope of beating Congo DR.

Congo, nicknamed the “Warriors of the Equator,” have top-level European experience in their squad with Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United), Arthur Masuaku (Lens), Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United) and captain Chancel Mbemba (Lille), so they should be too strong for a Jamaica side led by interim coach Rudolph Speid. Wrexham’s Bailey Cadamarteri scored the match winner for Jamaica against New Caledonia, but repeating that effort will be tough against one of the strongest African teams.

Winners: Congo DR

PATHWAY 2
Winner enters World Cup Group I (France, Senegal, Norway)

Iraq vs. Bolivia (Guadalupe, Mexico): Iraq’s preparations for their playoff have been thrown into disarray by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, forcing coach Graham Arnold to ask FIFA for the game to postponed due to the difficulties of his squad being about to travel from the region. But Tuesday’s match will go ahead and the Lions of Mesopotamia will have a full squad due to call on after being given the use of a private jet to travel to Mexico. Whether the disruption to their plans will affect Iraq’s chances remains to be seen, but Bolivia’s 2-1 semifinal win over Suriname, when they overturned a 1-0 deficit to claim victory, showed that the South American nation is match ready — the same cannot be said for Iraq. Having had no competitive games since December, Iraq might struggle to win this game and end a 40-year wait for a World Cup appearance.

Winners: Bolivia

Shedeur Sanders is making a jersey change heading into his sophomore NFL season, and he’s going back to his Colorado roots. 

Sanders, who wore No. 12 during his rookie season, will wear No. 2 next year for the Cleveland Browns. 

As the Browns made it official on social media, Sanders did so as well, writing “#2” on X to coincide with his squad. 

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The move comes after wide receiver DeAndre Carter, who wore the number for Cleveland last season, is no longer on the roster. Now that he has a year under his belt, Sanders can make the change. 

And he does so with his old college number, as Sanders wore No. 2 at Jackson State University before transferring to Colorado, as his father, Deion Sanders, took the head coach role with the Buffaloes. 

SHEDEUR SANDERS’ WILD 2025 BEGAN WITH DRAFT FALL, BUT IT’S ENDING WITH HOPE AFTER TUMULTUOUS TURNS

While he was wearing No. 12 last season, Sanders started the year in a depth role, as veteran Joe Flacco was Kevin Stefanski’s starting quarterback. But, when Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals following Joe Burrow’s injury, Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted two rounds before Sanders in a shocking NFL Draft for the Buffaloes product, took over the role. 

He would be Gabriel’s backup, but after the latter’s struggles and injury, it was Sanders’ time to step up. 

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders reacts on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Sanders won his first-ever start against the Las Vegas Raiders and went 3-4 across seven starts as he remained the starter for the remainder of the season. Since then, Stefanski was fired; head coach Todd Monken was hired, and the veteran coach who served as John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens echoed what the Browns said heading into 2026 — there will be an open quarterback competition. 

Monken told NFL Network at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix on Monday that the Browns haven’t “gotten that far yet” in terms of naming Sanders their starter heading into the team’s offseason program. 

Deshaun Watson, who has had a turbulent Browns tenure, is back in the fold, while Gabriel is back healthy heading into 2026. 

Sanders surely understands he’ll have to prove himself again with a new coaching staff in the building, as that’s ultimately the nature of the NFL except for a rare group of certified starters. 

Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders (12) and Teven Jenkins (74) celebrate a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Cleveland on Dec. 7, 2025.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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But Sanders has a Pro Bowl under his belt already despite the small sample size on the NFL gridiron. He’s looking to build off the momentum of last season, but it’ll be a fresh start with a new number.  

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Kentucky is targeting Jackson State coach and former NBA All-Star Mo Williams for an assistant coach position on Mark Pope’s staff, sources told ESPN on Monday.

The move has not been finalized, sources said, but there’s clear mutual interest and both sides expect a deal to be reached.

Williams’ son, Mason, committed to Kentucky last week. Mason Williams is a four-star guard who originally committed to Jackson State but decommitted in early December as his stock rose and potential recruitment expanded to power-conference programs.

Mo Williams has coached at Jackson State for four seasons, going 47-25 in SWAC play and reaching the championship game of the conference tournament last season.

Prior to taking over at Jackson State, Williams was the head coach at Alabama State for two seasons and an assistant coach under Mark Gottried at Cal State Northridge for two seasons.

Williams enjoyed a 13-year playing career in the NBA, averaging 13.2 points and 4.9 assists while playing for seven different franchises. He won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was a 2009 All-Star selection during his first stint with the Cavs.

Pope’s staff at Kentucky is undergoing a reshuffle, with Jason Hart leaving the Wildcats for a spot on Andy Enfield’s staff at SMU and Alvin Brooks III also not returning next season.