The last four European places for the 2026 World Cup will be awarded in a playoff tournament. Four of the 16 participants in the tournament advance via the Nations League.
The last four European places for the 2026 World Cup will be awarded in a playoff tournament in March 2026.
- 16 teams play against the four World Cup participants in four playoff tournaments.
- The twelve group runners-up from the World Cup qualification qualify for the playoffs.
- In addition, four other teams will move up based on their results in the Nations League.
The four teams moving up are the Nations League group winners, who in the actual World Cup qualification neither qualified directly for the World Cup finals as group leaders nor reached the playoffs as group runners-up.
Replacement procedure identifies additional participants
In an overall ranking of the Nations League, the four participating teams will be determined via a replacement process.
In an access list with the Nations League results, the teams that already securely occupy one of the top two places in their qualifying groups no longer play a role. Whenever a team securely reaches the top 2 of its group in the rankings, it passes down the claim to the playoff spot.
| country | status |
|---|---|
Germany | Playoff place over NL secure |
Wales | Playoff place over NL secure |
Czech Republic | Playoff place over NL secure |
Romania | Playoff place over NL secure |
Sweden | successor |
North Maz. | successor |
Northern Ireland | successor |
Moldova | successor |
San Marino | successor |
Serbia | successor |
The final World Cup riders will be determined in four mini-tournaments
For the playoffs:
- The playoffs will be drawn on November 20th.
- The semi-finals and finals will each be played in just one game.
- The eight best teams according to the world rankings have home advantage in the semi-finals, the four worse teams and those from the Nations League play away.
- Home rights for the four finals will be drawn in advance
The decisions will be made on the last qualifying match days from November 13th to 18th.