ZURICH — The top-seeded teams for the Dec. 5 World Cup tournament draw, including Germany but not Croatia, were set Wednesday when FIFA published new rankings the day after four continents completed qualifying.

Northern Ireland, Sweden and North Macedonia, three of Italy’s possible opponents in the World Cup play-off semifinal, are the only teams to have already denied the Azzurri a place in the

Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically qualify as tournament hosts, filling three guaranteed spots.