- By Himanshu Badola
- Thu, 04 Dec 2025 01:56 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw Explained: The draw for the much-awaited men's FIFA World Cup 2026 is all set to take place on Friday, December 5. The unprecedented participation of a total of 48 teams will unfold a new chapter in the history of the mega event, which is scheduled to be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
There will be 104 games played instead of 64 in the World Cup, getting underway on June 11 and will run till July 19 at 16 venues throughout North America. 78 games will be played at 11 NFL stadiums, including all from the quarterfinals on, and 13 each in Mexico and Canada. The final is scheduled to be played at the iconic MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where there will be a halftime show for the first time.
Apart from 12 group winners and second-place nations, eight third-place teams advance to a new round of 32. The World Cup winner will play eight games.
Led by captain Lionel Messi, who turns 39 during the tournament, Argentina will be aiming to become the first nation to win consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Messi and Portugal's 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo are expected to play in a record sixth World Cup.
Cape Verde (ranked No. 68), Curaçao (82), Jordan (66) and Uzbekistan (50) are the teams that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Curacao, an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands kingdom, is the smallest nation by population to qualify for the enormous tournament.
How the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw works
The World Cup will see teams divided into 12 groups of four each. The draw is structured around four pots, classified primarily by FIFA World Rankings and host status. The hosts United States, Mexico, and Canada-automatically fill top positions in groups A, D, and G, respectively, and are placed in Pot 1 along with the nine highest-ranked teams in the world.
ALSO READ: Harbhajan Singh Takes 'Veiled' Dig At Gambhir And Agarkar Over Kohli-Rohit's ODI Future
Notably, one team from each pot will be drawn into every group. The other three pots will have the teams divided as per the FIFA rankings, with the lowest-ranked qualified teams in Pot 4. The 12 groups for the World Cup will then be formed by one team from each pot.
FIFA World Cup 2026 draw rules explained
1. No group should contain more than one team from the same confederation. As per the exception of UEFA, a group must have at least one but no more than two European teams in each group.
2. The top four teams in the FIFA rankings – Spain, Argentina, France and England – cannot face each other until the semi-finals, provided they win their groups.
3. 42 out of 48 matches have been finalised, with the remaining six games to be decided in late March 2026 via four European play-offs and a two-path inter-confederation play-off tournament.
Which teams have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia.
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde , Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, four European play-off teams, two intercontinental play-off teams
FIFA World Cup 2026 draw schedule: Date, timings and venue
The FIFA World Cup 2026 draw will take place on Friday 5 December 2025 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. After the draw, FIFA will soon release the full tournament match schedule, including venues and kick-off times, in a separate broadcast on Saturday 6 December.
How to watch FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw Live
The FIFA World Cup 2026 draw will have the live coverage worldwide on FIFA’s official digital platforms, including FIFA.com and the organisation’s YouTube and social media channels.