Just over six months out from the tournament’s opening game, the draw for the 2026 men’s World Cup takes place on Friday, with FIFA promising an event that “blend[s] sport, entertainment and spectacle like never before”.
Co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the 2026 World Cup kicks off in Mexico City on June 11 - and is to feature a record 48 teams. Forty-two qualifiers have been confirmed ahead of the draw; the final six participants will be decided in playoff tournaments held in March.
Where is the World Cup draw and who’s hosting?
Held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the World Cup draw is to be conducted by former England men’s soccer captain Rio Ferdinand, alongside the British broadcaster Samantha Johnson. The event’s hosts, meanwhile, will be supermodel Heidi Klum, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, and actor Danny Ramirez.
Four icons of North American major-league sport - Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge, Shaquille O’Neal - have been lined up as draw assistants.
Musicians Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger are to perform at Kennedy Center, where U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be in attendance.
Indeed, Trump is being heavily tipped to receive the newly-created FIFA Peace Prize at the draw - two months after failing to land the rather more prestigious counterpart handed out by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
What time is the 2026 World Cup draw?
The 2026 men’s World Cup group-stage draw is scheduled to take place on Friday, December 5, at 12:00 noon ET/9:00 a.m. PT.
How can I watch the World Cup draw in the U.S.?
Viewers in the States will be able to tune in to the draw on Fox, Peacock, Telemundo and Universo. Your streaming options also include the online platform fubo, which offers new users a free, introductory trial.
How will the 2026 World Cup draw work?
Twelve groups of four will be drawn out of the hat in Washington. The groups will comprise one team from each of the draw’s four, 12-team pots. The makeup of each pot was principally decided by using the men’s world rankings published by the governing body on Nov. 19, 2025.
However, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have all automatically been placed in Pot 1, the top pot. What’s more, the co-hosts have already been assigned to Groups B, A and D, respectively.
World rankings were also disregarded when it came to deciding the seeding status of the six unconfirmed playoff qualifiers: they will each be in Pot 4, the bottom pot.
Teams from the same continental confederation will be kept apart in the group stage, with the exception of UEFA’s European nations. As there will be 16 teams from Europe at the 2026 World Cup, four groups will have to include two countries from the continent.
You’ll find a more detailed explanation of the draw procedure on the FIFA website.
2026 World Cup draw - the pots:
Canada, Mexico, USMNT, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA playoff A, UEFA playoff B, UEFA playoff C, UEFA playoff D, FIFA playoff 1, FIFA playoff 2
Who’s in the World Cup qualification playoffs?
One team will emerge from each of the following six paths - four from UEFA’s qualification playoffs, and two from FIFA’s inter-confederation tournament: