There are a few surprises in the mix for the European play-offs, with a total of 16 teams set to battle it out for just four spots. The bulk of Europe's representatives at the 2026 World Cup will soon be confirmed with the first round of the UEFA qualification phase wrapping up, but the identity of the final four teams won't be known until next March.  A total of 16 teams from UEFA will compete at the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada next year, with 12 automatic qualifiers from the qualification phase and four progressing through a play-off phase.  Here, GOAL explains how the European play-offs work, with key information such as the seeding and how to watch the draw live.The draw takes place in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, November 20, 2025. It will take place after the draw for the inter-continental play-off tournament, which is scheduled to start at 12 noon GMT (7 am ET).READ MORE: All the teams that have qualified for World Cup 2026FIFA+ and FIFA's official website will be streaming the draws worldwide, while the federation's official media partners will also broadcast them in their respective territories.In the United States, the Fox (English) and Telemundo (Spanish) networks hold the rights to World Cup and World Cup qualification games, so the draw will be broadcast on their TV channels, which are also available to stream live through fubo.In the United Kingdom, meanwhile, free-to-air networks BBC and ITV share the broadcast rights for the World Cup. The draw will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website.Getty ImagesThe European play-offs for the 2026 World Cup will feature 16 teams - the 12 qualification group runners-up and the four best-ranked teams from the Nations League path.STANDINGS: World Cup 2026 UEFA qualification tablesThe teams will be divided into four seeding pots - two seeded and two unseeded - based on the FIFA World Ranking from November 19 2025. The 12 group runners-up from the qualification phase will be allocated to pots one to three, with the four teams from the Nations League path going into pot four as unseeded teams.Each the eight semi-finals will be composed of a seeded team versus an unseeded team - teams from Pot 1 will be paired with teams from Pot 4 and teams from Pot 2 will play teams from Pot 3. Teams from Pots 1 and 4 will be allocated to semi-finals 1, 3, 5 and 7, while teams from Pots 2 and 3 will be allocated to semi-finals 2, 4, 6 and 8.The European play-offs will feature four paths - A, B, C and D. Each path contains four teams, drawn from each of the four pots. Within each pathway, there will be two semi-finals, with the winners of those semi-finals then contesting a final for the prize of a place at the 2026 World Cup.As noted above, in each pathway, seeded teams will play against unseeded teams in the semi-finals, with teams from Pot 1 playing teams from Pot 4, while teams from Pot 2 will play teams from Pot 3.WATCH: Lionel Messi & Lamine Yamal star in adidas World Cup adThe World Cup play-offs will be played in March 2026. Semi-final games will take place on March 26, 2025, and the finals will be played on March 31, 2025.