ZURICH: Iraq will have to beat Bolivia or Suriname in a one-game playoff next March to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Iraq were seeded in a six-nation draw on Thursday at FIFA headquarters for the intercontinental playoffs that will send two teams to the 48-nation tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Congo were seeded in the other intercontinental playoffs bracket and will play the winner of a single-game semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
A separate draw for European playoffs brackets in March — involving 16 teams, including four-time champion Italy, playing for four World Cup places — was being made minutes later at FIFA.
The six intercontinental playoff games will be staged in Mexico from March 23-31 at stadiums in Guadalajara and Monterrey, which each will host four World Cup games next June.
A total of six teams will advance from the two sets of playoffs in March to complete the first 48-nation lineup.
The other 42 teams were confirmed this week when qualifying groups and playoff games were completed on four continents.
The World Cup draw is on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. There, the six unconfirmed playoffs teams will be drawn as placeholders and should come out of the pot of lowest-ranked teams in the seeded draw.
A penalty scored by Iraq in the 17th minute of stoppage time against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday sent coach Graham Arnold’s team through to the global playoffs. Iraq’s 2-1 win in Basra sealed a 3-2 victory in the two-leg Asian playoff.
Iraq’s only World Cup appearance was in 1986, and Arnold coached his home nation Australia at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, reaching the round of 16.
New Caledonia are the lowest-ranked team in the playoffs, at No. 149 of the 211 FIFA member countries.
New Caledonia effectively advanced to the playoffs by beating Tahiti 3-0 in March, before losing the Oceania qualifying final against New Zealand.
Coach Johann Sidaner’s team have played just one game since, beating Gibraltar in a friendly last month.
Iraq to face Bolivia or Suriname in one-game playoff to reach 2026 World Cup
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Iraq to face Bolivia or Suriname in one-game playoff to reach 2026 World Cup
- Iraq were seeded in a six-nation draw on Thursday at FIFA headquarters for the intercontinental playoffs
- Iraq’s 2-1 win in Basra sealed a 3-2 victory in the two-leg Asian playoff
Colombia’s Rodriguez signs for Minnesota on short-term deal
- Rodriguez will occupy an international squad spot pending a medical and receipt of his visa.
- “We’re excited to add his creativity and football intelligence to our group,” El-Ahmad said
MINNESOTA: Colombia captain James Rodriguez signed for Minnesota United on Friday, marking his seventh club since leaving Real Madrid in 2020 as the former World Cup Golden Boot winner continues his globe-trotting career.
The Major League Soccer club announced that the 34-year-old midfielder has signed a guaranteed contract through June 2026, with a club option to extend until December 2026.
Rodriguez will occupy an international squad spot pending a medical and receipt of his visa.
“James is a player whose quality, vision, and experience at the highest levels of the game are unquestioned. We’re excited to add his creativity and football intelligence to our group,” the club’s sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad said in a statement.
“At the same time, this move is about collective strength — not about putting everything on one individual.”
Rodriguez, who won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup in a breakthrough tournament that earned him a move to Real Madrid, has become something of a footballing nomad in recent years.
Since the 2019-20 campaign, the playmaker has plied his trade across continents for Everton, Al-Rayyan, Olympiacos, Sao Paulo, Rayo Vallecano and Leon before landing in Minnesota.
“I’m very happy for this new chapter in my life. I hope to be at my best so I can bring joy to this city and to all of the people who are putting their faith in me,” Rodriguez said.
“I’m looking forward to meeting all of the passionate Minnesota fans because I’m also a passionate player who wants to give everything on the field and always wants to win.”
Rodriguez will get his first chance to impress when the new MLS season kicks off on February 21, with Minnesota taking on Austin.
