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The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup European play-offs has just been completed in Zurich, where Türkiye learned its opponent on the road to the tournament that will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Entering the playoffs from Pot 1, Türkiye was paired with Romania, one of the four Nations League teams placed in Pot 4.
The European play-off semifinals will be played on March 26, while the decisive finals that will determine the World Cup qualifiers are scheduled for March 31.
Each tie will be a single-leg knockout, which means Türkiye will face Romania on March 26, and if they win that semifinal, they will move on to the final on March 31, where their potential opponents will be Slovakia or Kosovo.
Türkiye’s national team faced Romania in the very first match of its 84-year international history, played on Oct. 26, 1923, at Istanbul’s Taksim Stadium.
Since then, the two sides have met 26 times, with Romania winning 14 matches, Türkiye taking 5 victories, and 7 games ending in a draw.
Türkiye clinched a playoff spot after finishing second in Group E, drawing 2–2 away against Spain in the final match.
This result confirmed the National Team’s path through the playoff round, where single-match eliminations will decide the final four European tickets to the 2026 World Cup.
Twelve runners-up from the qualifying groups join four Nations League selections to form a pool of sixteen teams.
These teams have now been drawn into brackets, and Türkiye will play at home in the semifinal round thanks to its Pot 1 seeding. Should Türkiye defeat Romania, it will then face the winner of the Pot 2 vs Pot 3 tie in the same bracket.
With the bracket now set, the National Team will shift its focus fully to the decisive knockout match against Romania, knowing that a place at the 2026 World Cup depends on a single night’s performance.
The 2026 World Cup European play-off bracket has been set as follows:
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