2026 World Cup Playoffs: Serie A Call-Ups
The March international break shines a spotlight on the 2026 World Cup qualifying playoffs, which will take place over two rounds: first on Thursday 26 March and then on Tuesday 31 March. Serie A Enilive once again proves to be a centre of talent and national teams, with as many as 175 players called up overall, including U21 selections, featuring sides competing in both playoffs and friendlies.
Beyond the 24 players called up to represent Italy, Croatia is the most represented nation among Serie A Enilive, with eight players selected: Nikola Vlašić, Luka Modrić, Petar Sučić, Marin Pongračić, Martin Baturina, Ivan Smolčić, Nikola Moro, and Mario Pašalić. In terms of clubs, Atalanta and Juventus top the list with 15 players each, while Pisa and Cremonese round out the list with three call-ups each.
Path A: Italy and the weight of history
In Path A, Italy face a vital game against Northern Ireland in Bergamo. Their goal is to break their two-time streak of not qualifying for the World Cup. If successful, the Azzurri will play the winner of Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina five days later.
Two Serie A names represent the Balkan side: Sead Kolašinac (Atalanta) and Tarik Muharemović (Sassuolo), with Muharemović coming off a spectacular performance at the Allianz Stadium.
Path B: “Italian” connections between Poland and Albania
Path B features plenty of games starring familiar Serie A faces. Sweden vs. Ukraine includes Jesper Karlström (Udinese), Isak Hien (Atalanta) and Noel Törnqvist (Como) on one side, up against Ruslan Malinovskyi on the other.
Then, Poland vs. Albania is a true “Serie A derby”: Nicola Zalewski (Atalanta), Piotr Zieliński (Inter), Adrian Przyborek (Lazio), and Jan Ziółkowski (Roma) for Poland all take on Ardian Ismajli (Torino), Ylber Ramadani (Lecce), Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta) and Elseid Hysaj (Lazio) for Albania, in the pursuit of a historic first World Cup qualification.
Path C: Talent and ambitions between Turkey and the Balkans
In Path C, Turkey dream of returning to the World Cup after their success in 2002, where they finished third. Their squad consists of four Serie A players in their match against Romania: Zeki Çelik (Roma), Semih Kılıçsoy (Cagliari), captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter), and starboy Kenan Yıldız (Juventus).
The other playoff semi-final, Slovakia vs. Kosovo, is also rich in Serie A names. Kosovo, who are making their tournament debut, field players including Mërgim Vojvoda (Como), Edon Zhegrova (Juventus), and Arijanet Murić (Sassuolo). Slovakia, who hope to return to the World Cup after their last appearance in 2010, will count on Adam Obert (Cagliari), Tomáš Suslov (Verona), and Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli).
Path D: Anticipated debuts and returns
In Path D, Denmark take on North Macedonia, who are led by Eljif Elmas (Napoli) and have never been part of a World Cup final before, while the Danish squad includes Victor Nelsson (Verona), Gustav Isaksen, Oliver Provstgaard (Lazio), and Rasmus Højlund (Napoli).
In the other semi-final, the Czech Republic face Ireland. While there are no Serie A players on the Irish side (partly due to Evan Ferguson’s injury), the Czech squad features Martin Vitík (Bologna).
Beyond the playoffs: the friendlies
Aside from playoffs, many national teams have arranged high-level friendlies ahead of the 2026 World Cup. A match that stands out is the top-tier friendly between Brazil and France on 26 March in Massachusetts: the Brazil squad features Bremer and Wesley, while the French side have called up Marcus Thuram, Maignan, Rabiot, and Kalulu.
The reigning champions Argentina will play at the Bombonera in the early hours of Saturday (00:15 CET) against Mauritania, followed by a match against Zambia on Tuesday (1:15 CET). Two Serie A players form part of the Argentinian team, both from Como: Nico Paz and Máximo Perrone.
