The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The event, which started at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, December 5, 2025, marks a significant milestone as teams discover their paths in the expanded 48-team tournament. This is the first time the United States has hosted the World Cup since 1994.
Forty-two of the 48 nations have already secured their spots, with the remaining six to be decided in the inter-confederation and UEFA playoffs in late March 2026. The draw determines the group-stage matchups for these teams, including the co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The format of the 2026 World Cup is different from previous years. There will be 12 groups of four teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the round of 32, along with the eight best third-place teams.
FIFA has organized the teams into four pots based on their rankings and qualification criteria. Each group will have one team from each pot. Pot 1 consists of the highest-ranked nations and the three hosts: Mexico (A1), Canada (B1), and the United States (D1). Other teams in Pot 1 include Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Pot 2 contains teams like Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay and Australia. Pot 3 includes Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria and Scotland. Pot 4 is reserved for the lowest-ranked teams and the winners of the intercontinental and UEFA playoffs.
To maintain geographical balance, FIFA has implemented rules to prevent groups from having more than one team from the same confederation, except for UEFA, which can have up to two teams per group.
The draw not only determines the groups but also assigns teams to specific slots within those groups, which dictates their match schedules. The full match schedule will be confirmed soon.
The draw can be viewed on SBS in Australia.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off on June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and the final will be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York City.
