a little off topic, but how is it determined which region the 4th seed from concacaf will play? I know it will be from south america or asia, but how is it determined?
Format[edit]
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs will be held at a later date.
The four teams from the four confederations (
AFC,
CONCACAF,
CONMEBOL, and
OFC) are to be drawn into two ties.
In each tie, the two teams play a
two-legged home-and-away series. The two winners, decided on
aggregate score, will qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. If the aggregate score is level, the
away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then 30 minutes of
extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by
penalty shoot-out.
These play-offs are to be the last two-legged ties that decide the two remaining World Cup slots for a 32-team tournament. Beginning with the
qualifiers for the
2026 FIFA World Cup, which was expanded to 48 teams, a playoff tournament involving six teams will be held to decide the last two berths,
[2] consisting of one team per confederation (except for
UEFA) and one additional team from the confederation of the host country (i.e., CONCACAF for 2026).