Conor Bradley and Northern Ireland have been handed a nightmare draw in the play-offs for the World Cup as two of Liverpool's stars found out their fate ahead of next year's tournament.
Bradley's nation has been drawn away to top seeds Italy in their semi-final, and should they come through that tough encounter, they will face another away tie against the winner of Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Alexander Isak and Sweden were also involved in the draw, having been drawn away to Ukraine in their semi-final. Should they win, they will play their final at home to the winner of Poland's game against Albania.
Sweden is forced to go through the play-offs after a disastrous qualifying campaign that saw it pick up just two points from its six games, with Graham Potter taking over from Jon Dahl Tomasson as manager after the later was fired midway through the campaign.
Isak’s nation has been handed a reprieve though thanks to its Nations League performance, as has Northern Ireland. Bradley’s side fared much better in its qualifying run, but ultimately had to settle for third in its group behind Germany and Slovakia.
The draw was made at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich on Thursday, with Wales and the Republic of Ireland also involved after both securing play-off spots in their final qualifying games.
Alexander Isak looks on from the bench during Sweden's World Cup qualifier against Slovenia
Alexander Isak and Sweden will have to go through the play-offs if they're to reach the World Cup (Image: Getty Images)
Wales thrashed North Macedonia 7-1 on Tuesday to claim second place in its group, while Ireland snatched its spot from Hungary in the most dramatic of circumstances, with Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez left in tears after Troy Parrott’s stoppage-time winner in Budapest.
The European play-offs are scheduled to be played in March 2026, with the semi-finals on March 26 while the finals will be held on March 31.
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The other European play-offs see Turkey hosting Romania, with the winner traveling to one of Slovakia or Kosovo, while the winner of Czechia vs Ireland will host one of Denmark or North Macedonia.
The inter-confederation play-offs were also decided on Thursday, with six teams from the rest of the world battling it out for two places at next year's tournament.
New Caledonia was drawn against Jamaica, with the winner of that game facing DR Congo for one of the qualification spots, while Bolivia will take on Suriname for the chance to play Iraq for the final place up for grabs.