The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw is scheduled for Friday, December 5, in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center, determining groups for the expanded 48-team tournament. Forty-two nations have qualified, including co-hosts United States, Canada and Mexico, with six spots to be filled via March playoffs. The event will be broadcast live on FOX starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The draw will assign 42 qualified teams and six placeholders into 12 groups of four, ensuring no more than one team per region per group except for UEFA, which can have up to two. Host nations are pre-assigned: Mexico to Group A, Canada to Group B, and the United States to Group D. The process begins with Pot 1, featuring top-ranked teams like Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany alongside the hosts, followed by Pots 2, 3 and 4.
Qualified Teams by Confederation
- AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
- CAF: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
- Concacaf: Canada (co-host), Curaçao, Haiti, Mexico (co-host), Panama, United States (co-host)
- CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
- OFC: New Zealand
- UEFA: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
The remaining spots come from UEFA playoffs (paths including Italy vs. Northern Ireland, Ukraine vs. Sweden, Türkiye vs. Romania, Denmark vs. North Macedonia) and the intercontinental playoff tournament (matchups like New Caledonia vs. Jamaica and Bolivia vs. Suriname). The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026, across 16 venues in the three host countries, with 78 games in the U.S.
Draw Structure and Impact
Pots are based on November 2025 FIFA rankings. Pot 1: Canada (B1), Mexico (A1), U.S. (D1), Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany. Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia. Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa. Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, plus four European and two intercontinental playoff winners.
The knockout bracket protects the top four ranked teams from meeting before semifinals if they top their groups. For MLS fans, the league pauses from May 25 to July 16, 2026. Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field will host group stage games from Groups C, E, I and L, plus a Round of 16 on July 4; updated schedules follow the draw on Saturday. Ticket lotteries open December 11 via FIFA.
