The inter-confederation play-offs of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers are now down to the final four teams battling for two more spots to the big dance this summer. The Path 1 winner will join Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Colombia in Group K, while the Path 2 winner will join France, Senegal, and Norway in Group I.
The mini-tournament started with six teams, with DR Congo and Iraq advancing to the final after receiving byes as seeded teams. At the same time, Jamaica, Bolivia, Suriname, and New Caledonia battled in the semi-finals as unseeded teams. Jamaica and Bolivia are through to the final, and will face DR Congo and Bolivia, respectively, this Tuesday, either in Zapopan or Guadalupe.
Qualifying for the World Cup hasn’t been exactly the norm for these four nations, so expect them to bring their A-game next week.
DR Congo vs Jamaica
DR Congo have been waiting for more than half a century to qualify again for the World Cup, and they’re one win away from doing so. The last time they qualified was when they were still known as Zaire, becoming the first sub-Saharan African nation to qualify for the finals. However, in the 1974 edition of the tournament, the Leopards lost all three group matches against Scotland, Yugoslavia, and Brazil with an embarrassing aggregate tally of 0-14.
In the CAF qualifiers, Sebastien Desabre’s men almost booked their outright tickets to the finals after accumulating 22 points in Group B. But Senegal pipped them with a slightly higher tally (24 points). In the second round, DR Congo won 1-0 against Cameroon and outlasted Nigeria in the penalty shootout, so here they are.
With so many talents coming from Europe’s Top 5 leagues, DR Congo are poised to return to the World Cup. Captaining the side is Lille centre-back Chancel Mbemba, with Arthur Masuaku, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Axel Tuanzebe as some of his rearguard partners. Noah Sadiki, Cedric Bakambu, and Yoane Wissa are set to lead up front.
Jamaica are fresh from a 1-0 win against New Caledonia yesterday, as Bailey Cadamarteri scored the only goal in the 18th minute. This was Rudolph Speid’s second game at the head coaching helm after he replaced Steve McClaren last November.
McClaren made headlines in the World Cup 2026 news when he surprisingly tendered his resignation last year after Jamaica’s goalless draw against Curacao, which sent the island nation to the play-offs. According to reports, McClaren stepped down due to health concerns.
The Reggae Boyz also have considerable talent at their disposal, with Ethan Pinnock, Amari’i Bell, Joel Latibeaudiere, Andre Brooks, Leon Bailey, Bobby Decordova-Reid, and Demarai Gray, among others (besides Cadamarteri), plying their trades in England.
Betting tip – DR Congo Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.03
Iraq vs Bolivia
After questions about their availability due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, Iraq have reportedly confirmed that they’ve booked a private plane to travel to Mexico to face Bolivia on Tuesday. Graham Arnold’s men beat the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate in the fifth round of the AFC qualifiers last November to book their place in the play-offs, and they’re bidding to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Before this, Iraq played in the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, where they bowed out of the quarter-finals, losing 1-0 to Jordan, who finished as runners-up.
Iraq are confident about qualifying for the World Cup, as they have an intriguing mix of local and European-based talents. Aymen Hussein and Mohanad Ali are likely to lead up front, as they continue to climb up Iraq’s all-time scorers list, and Zidane Iqbal is a handful in the middle of the park.
Bolivia reached this far after finishing seventh in the CONMEBOL table, following their 1-0 upset of Brazil on Matchday 18. Oscar Villegas’ side followed it up with a 2-1 win over Suriname yesterday, as Moises Paniagua and Miguel Terceros scored two quickfire goals in the second half to overturn a one-goal deficit created by Liam van Gelderen.
Terceros has been the driving force for La Verde during their qualifying journey. With his penalty against Suriname, the Santos midfielder has tied with Lionel Messi as the highest-scoring South American in the qualifiers. Bolivia will deploy a youth-laden team full of local talents, with Al-Tai centre-back Luis Haquin as the skipper.
The SBOTOP World Cup 2026 odds predict a tight contest between these two sides, and an odd goal could ultimately decide the match – and the final qualifying team.
Betting tip – Under 2.25 @ 1.80
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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