The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw awaits on Friday, determining 12 groups of four teams each (48 teams total) for when the expanded tournament unfolds from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
How to watch & stream
- Worldwide: FIFA.com, FIFA YouTube
- USA: FOX, Telemundo
- Canada: TSN
When
- Friday, December 5 | 12 pm ET/9 am PT
Where
- John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts | Washington, D.C.
How the draw works
Of the 42 qualified countries, 39 are split into four pots as determined by the November 2025 FIFA Men's World Rankings.
Host nations USA, Canada and Mexico enter Pot 1. Lastly, the two FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament placeholders, as well as the four European Play-Off placeholders, are allocated into Pot 4.
All the groups – A through L – can have no more than one team from each region, except for UEFA. Each group will have at least one European team and no more than two.
For the World Cup draw, FIFA has adopted a seeding structure to ensure that the four highest-ranked nations – Spain, Argentina, France and England – can't meet until the semifinals, should they win their respective groups.
Who has qualified?
Host nations USA, Canada and Mexico automatically qualified, with 45 other teams earning berths via their confederation’s respective path.
There are 42 spots locked up; the remaining six berths will be known next March via playoffs.
Africa (CAF)
- Algeria
- Cape Verde
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Morocco
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tunisia
Europe (UEFA)
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- England
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Scotland
- Spain
- Switzerland
North America, Central America & Caribbean (Concacaf)
- Canada (co-host)
- Curaçao
- Haiti
- Mexico (co-host)
- Panama
- United States (co-host)
Oceania (OFC)
- New Zealand
South America (Conmebol)
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
Which countries are in which pot?
The draw will begin with all the teams from Pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It will then continue with Pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.
- Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
- Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
- Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
- Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Play-Off A, B, C and D, FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1 and 2
Who else can still qualify?
European pathway
Six (6) spots remain undecided, including four (4) from Europe.
From March 26-31, 16 UEFA nations will participate in the European playoffs – 12 group runners-up during qualifying and the four highest-ranked remaining UEFA Nations League section winners.
Each path's top team qualifies.
- Path A: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales
- Path B: Albania, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine
- Path C: Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, Türkiye
- Path D: Czechia, Denmark, North Macedonia, Republic of Ireland
Inter-confederation playoffs
The final two (2) teams will also be decided in March, in Mexico, via playoff paths. They are as follows:
Pathway 1
- Semifinal: New Caledonia vs. Jamaica
- Final: New Caledonia/Jamaica vs. Congo DR
Pathway 2
- Semifinal: Bolivia v Suriname
- Final: Bolivia/Suriname v Iraq
