The World Cup line-up is almost complete as nations book their place in next summer’s tournament through qualifying. But for 16 teams, their nerves of claiming a spot in North America will carry on into 2026 as they compete in the play-offs. The Republic of Ireland dramatically kept their hopes of qualification alive on Sunday thanks to a last-gasp Troy Parrott goal. Tears were shed as a play-off place was secured, but focus will now turn to who they could face on the road to the World Cup.Italy and Sweden are among the strong sides that are also confirmed to be featuring, with Wales and Scotland could join them.Here’s all you need to know about the draw and the play-offs…When is the World Cup play-off draw?The draw for the 2026 World Cup play-offs will take place on Thursday, November 20. It will get going at 12pm UK time and is being held at FIFA‘s Home of Football in Zurich, Switzerland. Fans will be able to watch the draw live and for free on FIFA+, with the stream available to tune in to here.The draw will also be shown live on the BBC Sport website and app.talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will be across all the latest too.To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. Listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.Ireland are hoping to reach their first World Cup since 2002AFPWhich nations are in the play-off draw and how do they work? 16 nations will be involved in the World Cup play-off draw. It will include 12 teams that finished second in the qualifying groups.And the other four will be the best-ranked group winners from the Nations League that did not finish in the top two in qualifying.The 16 teams are split into four pots of four, with the 12 group winners split into the top three pots based on FIFA ranking.Pot four will be filled with those who qualified through the Nations League.One team from each pot drawn is then into either Path A, Path B, Path C or Path D. Nations in the World Cup play-off drawConfirmedSlovakia Sweden UkraineTurkey Republic of Ireland Poland RomaniaItaly AlbaniaCzech RepublicNorthern IrelandStill to be decided Switzlerand or Kosovo Denmark or Scotland Austria or Bosnia and HerzegovinaBelgium / Wales / North Macedonia (two of three)In each path, the team from pot one takes on the team from pot four, while the pot two nation faces the nation from pot three.They clash in semi-finals that consist of just one leg. Nations from the top two pots will play the game at home, with the draw determining the home team for the final of each Path.The winners of the Path A, B, C and D semi-finals will then meet in the final of their respective section. And the winners of the finals progress to the 2026 World Cup.It means only four of the 16 teams involved in the play-offs can book their place in North American next summer.Wales are likely to have to go through the World Cup play-offs tooAFPWhen do the World Cup play-offs take place? The World Cup 2026 play-offs will begin on March 26, 2026. It will start with the semi-finals on that date, before the finals are scheduled for five days later on March 31.Home teams for each semi-final and final have to confirm which stadium they will be playing at by December 19.