WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, an increase in squads also means more restrictions on which teams could be drawn together. On the heels of a winter World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, followed by the Euros and both UEFA and Concacaf Nations Leagues taking place, the start of World Cup qualifying was pushed back, leading to the play-in games taking place during March of 2026 after the World Cup draw has already been completed.
During the draw on Friday, when Uzbekistan were drawn, groups had to be skipped, causing some confusion. Putting the Asian side into Group K alongside Portugal, Colombia, and the winner of the Intercontinental Playoff 1 (DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia) was necessary. That’s because putting them anywhere else would’ve potentially complicated things, resulting in a situation where there were two teams from the same confederation, which is not permitted, outside of UEFA.
Because the playoff winners are not known, avoiding the possibility of having two teams from the same confederation had to be prevented.
The standard restrictions were in play that impact any World Cup. However, UEFA is required to have two groups of two of its teams due to the fact that 16 teams will be participating in the tournament from Europe. But looking at the draw mechanics, the playoffs containing teams from multiple different confederations meant that restrictions had to be applied more than once.
For the playoff tournament teams, the confederation restrictions were applied to all teams involved in the playoff, which would keep the host nations from drawing a team involved in the FIFA playoff tournament due to Jamaica and Suriname being involved as Concacaf teams. That already created limited chances, but with DR Congo, Jamaica, and New Caledonia representing CAF, Concacaf, and OFC, there was almost no other group that they could go into to further limit options.
If playoffs took place before the World Cup draw, that wouldn’t be an issue, but in an expanded World Cup, new quirks are created. It’s something that may be able to be smoothed out ahead of the 2030 World Cup, but it made for a moment where people didn’t know where a team was going. It will take until the March international break for the full World Cup field to be known, but the picture is becoming clearer by the day.
