There are only 6 places left, the World Cup preliminaries are becoming more and more intense, many strong teams are gathered, and the situation in Italy is not optimistic!

Not long ago, the qualifiers for the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup on all continents basically came to an end. Currently, 42 qualifying teams have been competed for, with only the last 6 places left.

What is somewhat surprising is that in the next play-off stage, there are many powerful European teams gathered, including the four-star Italian team. In addition, in addition to the European play-offs, the intercontinental play-offs will also start as scheduled. Let us take a look at which teams will start fighting before the draw and what their promotion forms will be like!

There are many strong teams from the first and second tiers in Europe, and the competition is fierce!

First of all, let’s talk about the European area. Since there are still 16 teams left to face the final competition, and since only 4 direct promotion places have been given, FIFA officials have also divided the 16 different teams into four different tiers according to the format of four teams in one tier. The first tier teams are Italy, Denmark, Turkey and Ukraine. For the Italian team, this is probably the gloomiest period in history. Since 2014, they have never been able to return to the World Cup stage. Although they won the European Cup in 2021, it now seems to be their final glory.

Although the team's defense in the backcourt is good, the talent shortage crisis in the midfield and frontcourt makes them encounter difficulties. They were defeated twice by Norway in the group stage, which is the best proof. As for the Danish team, they were also very sorry to be defeated by the Scottish team at the last moment, but with Eriksen, Damsgård, Hoylen and others, they still have a chance. The other two first-tier teams are Türkiye and Ukraine. The strength of these two teams is relatively average and may become the backdrop for dark horses.

Then there is the second-tier team. Poland is definitely the strongest team in this tier. Lewandowski's condition is pretty good. The team has scored 14 goals in 8 games, which is enough to prove that they have sufficient offensive firepower. If the draw is right, they have the opportunity to complete the following tricks. Although Wales lost Gareth Bale, they still scored 21 goals in this World Cup preliminaries. The team has many main players from Premier League teams and also has the opportunity to complete a dark horse counterattack.

The other two teams are the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Both teams are relatively even in offense and defense. Especially when the Slovakia team was in Group A, it put huge pressure on the German team, and the winner was not decided until the end. So generally speaking, the four teams in the second tier may all be able to counterattack the teams in the first tier, but they also need to be wary of the teams in the third and fourth tiers.

The strength of the third gear is average, and there is a big dark horse in the fourth gear.

Let’s take a look at the teams in the third tier. Compared with the first and second tiers, the strength of the third tier has obviously declined. Although the Irish team upset the Portuguese team in the qualifying stage, the point difference between them and their opponents was too big, and they finally entered the play-off stage with a 3-point disadvantage. In a total of 8 games, they have only scored 9 goals. Their overall offense is relatively weak, and these goals are basically scored by Parrott and Ferguson, which is likely to become their fatal flaw.

Albania also lacks firepower. In the entire 8 games of the group stage, it only scored 7 goals. It may be difficult to pose any threat. The other two teams, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have insufficient star quality. Bosnia and Herzegovina is still relying on veteran Dzeko for support. Once Dzeko encounters restrictions, there is a high probability that they will fall into a scoring drought.

Finally, there are the fourth-tier teams. It has to be said that among the fourth-tier teams in this session, there is indeed a dark horse, and they are the Swedish team. It is hard to imagine that a team with Dzekeresh, Isaac, Eranga and Kulusevski in the frontcourt would actually be ranked at the bottom of the World Cup preliminaries. However, once they find the feeling of scoring goals and solve the defensive problem in the backcourt, they are likely to kill everyone in the play-off stage and successfully complete the counterattack.

As for the other three teams, Romania, North Macedonia and Northern Ireland, although their overall strength may be at the bottom of all 16 teams, they may still have the potential to explode. After all, in the last qualifying stage, they miraculously defeated the Italian team. This is something that other teams must be wary of.

New troops gathered in the intercontinental competition, and Iraq became the light of Asia.

Then let’s talk about the intercontinental play-offs. The team from Asia will be the Iraqi team. As the 2007 Asian Cup champions, although Iraq does not have any top players, they have always been a resilient team. They naturally hope to enter the World Cup. Bolivia, the South American powerhouse that sits in the high-altitude Devil's home court, is also participating in the play-offs this time. This team put pressure on many top teams in the South American qualifiers. Even giants such as Argentina and Brazil struggled to score points against them.

In addition, fans may not be familiar with the Democratic Congo from Africa, New Caledonia from Oceania, and Jamaica and Suriname from Central and North America, but being able to enter the final play-off stage is undoubtedly a reflection of their strength. These 6 teams from different continents represent the glory of each continent, and only 2 places can be decided in total. This will be the ultimate test for them.