On Friday, December 5, FIFA will hold the draw for the inaugural 48-team World Cup, drawing football enthusiasts from all around the world to North America.
A significant change to the competition’s format is the expanded FIFA World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The draw determines the early course for the favorites and establishes the groups for each of the 48 nations.
All the information you require on the 2026 FIFA World Cup is provided below:
Leading Seeds Preserved
FIFA will use the most recent world rankings to split the 48 teams into four pots of twelve. Every pot will have one team in each group.
For the first time, the draw was created by the governing body to avoid early conflicts amongst the top four nations.
If each team wins their group, Spain, Argentina, France, and England will all be kept separated until at least the semifinals.
With the exception of Europe, no team from the same confederation may be included in more than one group. Four groups will comprise two European teams, and 16 UEFA countries are anticipated to qualify.
Assigned Host Countries
Since each of the three host countries has already been grouped together, they will completely skip the draw.
With two games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle, the United States will take the lead in Group D. Group A will be led by Mexico, who will have a great home crowd, particularly at Azteca Stadium, where they will begin the campaign on June 11 before traveling to Guadalajara for their third group match.
With two games in Vancouver and one in Toronto, Canada is placed in Group B.
Additional Knockout Round
There is an extra knockout stage in the extended format. Following the group stage, each group’s top two teams as well as the top eight third-place teams will compete in a round of 32.
After the first 72 games, only 16 countries will be eliminated, meaning that 32 will go from the group stage.
The Look of the Pots
The United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany comprise Pot 1.
Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia comprise Pot 2.
Pot 3: Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
Pot 4: four UEFA play-off winners, two intercontinental play-off winners, Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand.
Play-Off Routes for UEFA
There will be sixteen European teams competing for the top four spots:
Path A: Bosnia and Herzegovina or Wales versus Northern Ireland or Italy
Path B: Poland or Albania vs. Ukraine or Sweden
Path C: Kosovo or Slovakia versus Romania or Turkey
Path D: Ireland or the Czech Republic versus Denmark or North Macedonia
The finals are scheduled for March 31. All semifinals will take place on March 26.
Intercontinental Competitions
Two World Cup berths will be up for grabs for the last six teams. The two play-off routes will take place in Mexico.
Path 1: DR Congo versus Jamaica or New Caledonia
Path 2: Suriname or Bolivia versus Iraq
On March 26, the semi-finals will take place, and on March 31, the final matches.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw is scheduled to begin in the United States at 3 p.m. Nigerian time.
