The 2026 World Cup draw is scheduled for Friday at 12 p.m. ET at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The purpose of the draw is to divide the 48-team field into 12 groups of four. From these preliminary groups, 32 teams will progress to the knockout rounds.
The 12 World Cup groups are named Group A, Group B, and so on up to Group L. The draw process involves selecting teams from different pots. Each group will consist of one team from each of the four pots.
Here is a breakdown of the pots and the teams’ FIFA rankings:
– Pot 1: Includes top-ranked teams like Spain, Argentina, France, and others.
– Pot 2: Features teams like Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, and more.
– Pot 3: Contains teams such as Norway, Panama, Egypt, and others.
– Pot 4: Includes teams like Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, as well as placeholders for teams yet to qualify.
Host countries, namely the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, are placed in Pot 1 to avoid tough matchups in the group stage. Mexico is set for Group A, Canada for Group B, and the U.S. for Group D.
The draw ensures that top-ranked teams like Spain, Argentina, France, and England are not placed in the same group to potentially meet only in the semifinals if they win their respective groups.
In Pot 4, six spots are placeholders for teams yet to qualify, including European teams competing in UEFA playoffs and FIFA playoffs involving teams from various regions.
The draw is subject to specific constraints:
– Each group must have at least one European team but not more than two.
– Teams from the same confederation cannot be in the same group, except for UEFA.
– Teams from different confederations like AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC must be distributed across groups.
The final game schedule, including venues and game times, will be revealed soon. The host countries’ game dates have already been disclosed:
– Canada: June 12 (Toronto), June 18 (Vancouver), and June 24 (Vancouver).
– Mexico: June 11 (Mexico City), June 18 (Guadalajara), and June 24 (Mexico City).
– United States: June 12 (Los Angeles), June 19 (Seattle), and June 25 (Los Angeles).