Lewandowski, Christensen and Bardghji will play the World Cup play-offs in March

Published New:19/11/2025 - 01:28h

Updated New:19/11/2025 - 01:28h

UEFA closed its World Cup 2026 qualifying on Tuesday. With 12 of the 16 European teams qualified, another 16 will compete for the remaining 4 spots in the playoffs in March

Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen, and Roony Bardghji are the three FC Barcelona players who will have to compete in the playoffs for the next World Cup in March 2026. Both Poland and Denmark finished second in their respective groups, while Sweden had already secured their place in the playoffs through the Nations League.

On Monday, Poland's victory in Malta (2-3) was not enough to catch up to the Netherlands in group G. Jan Urban's team finished the qualifying round with 17 points, 3 behind the 'Oranje'. Lewandowski scored one of the goals on the final matchday and will aim to play in his third consecutive World Cup.

Christensen Suffers Dramatic Denmark Defeat in Scotland

Christensen, for his part, could not prevent Denmark's dramatic defeat in Glasgow (4-2). **Brian Riemer's team only needed a draw to qualify directly** and seemed to have everything under control at Hampden Park.

Scotland took an early lead with a goal from **Scott McTominay** in the 3rd minute, but the Danes responded with a penalty from **Hojlund** in the 57th. **Shankland** put the home team ahead again in the 78th, but **Patrick Dorgu** made it 2-2 in the 82nd.

Denmark, playing with one man down after Rasmus Kristensen's expulsion in the 61st minute, was superior in Glasgow but let qualification slip away in added time. **Two goals from Tierney and McLean in the third and ninth minutes of stoppage time** unleashed madness at Hampden Park, with a 4-2 victory that gave the Scots the lead in Group C with 13 points

The Danes, who arrived undefeated on the final matchday, finished with 11 points and will have to play in the playoffs. Andreas Christensen played the full 90 minutes, just as he did on Saturday in the home draw against Belarus (2-2), a result that had complicated things for the Reds before the trip to Scotland.

Bardghji, 'missing' with Sweden in the qualifying finale

Roony Bardghji, for his part, did not see action with Sweden in the matches against Switzerland (4-1) and Slovenia (1-1). He was a substitute in the match against the Swiss, while on Tuesday he did not even make the bench in Solna.

Graham Potter's men completed a disastrous qualifying campaign, with just 2 points out of a possible 18, but will be in the playoffs thanks to what they did in last edition's Nations League. The Swedes were leaders of their group in League C, as were Romania, Northern Ireland, and Macedonia

How the UEFA World Cup Play-offs Will Be Played

And so, the 16 teams that will play in the European playoffs in March to determine the last 4 qualifiers for the World Cup have been defined. The draws will take place this Thursday, November 20, while the matches will be played on March 26 (semifinals) and the 31st of the same month (finals). For the draw, the pots will be as follows:

Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, and Ukraine
Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, and Slovakia
Pot 3: Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia, and Kosovo
Pot 4: Sweden, Romania, North Macedonia, and Northern Ireland

In the first round, the four teams from pot 1 will play at home against those from pot 4, while the countries from pot 2 will play at home against those from pot 3. For the second round, the venue for each match will be drawn, always with single-leg ties.