2026 FIFA World Cup Draw

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Draw took place on Friday, December 5, 2025 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C... Because the 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams, teams were divided into four pots of 12. Pot 1 included the three host nations the United States, Canada, and Mexico plus the nine highest ranked qualified teams. Pots 2, 3, and 4 contain the remaining teams, ranked in descending order. The six teams that will later qualify via playoffs were placeholders placed in Pot 4. During the draw, one team from each pot is placed into each of the 12 groups forming groups of four.

Hosts were pre-assigned: Mexico to Group A, Canada to Group B, and the United States to Group D. Teams from the same confederation generally cannot be grouped together with the exception of Europe which will have 16 teams in total; thus, some groups will have two European teams. To help balance the knockout bracket, the top-ranked non-host nations at the time Spain, Argentina, France, and England were distributed in such a way that if they top their groups, they won't meet each other until the semifinal stage.

Group A:

Mexico

South Africa

South Korea

Playoff

Group B:

Canada

Qatar

Switzerland

Playoff

Group C:

Brazil

Morocco

Haiti

Scotland

Group D:

United States

Paraguay

Australia

Playoff

Group E:

Germany

Curacao

Ivory Coast

Ecuador

Group F:

Netherlands

Japan

Tunisia

Playoff

Group G:

Belgium

Egypt

Iran

New Zealand

Group H:

Spain

Cabo Verde

Saudi Arabia

Uruguay

Group I:

France

Senegal

Norway

Playoff

Group J:

Argentina

Algeria

Austria

Jordan

Group K:

Portugal

Uzbekistan

Colombia

Playoff

Group L:

England

Croatia

Ghana

Panama

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Playoffs will be decided in March with the tournament starting in June with Mexico vs South Africa as the opening match.

Written by: Daniel Torres

2026 FIFA World Cup Draw