The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place on Friday evening in Washington DC, as 12 groups of four teams were confirmed ahead of next summer’s tournament in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
A total of 42 countries were represented at the final draw, with six of the 48 World Cup spots still undecided. Those remaining places will be filled in March 2026.
Four teams will emerge from the 16-nation UEFA play-offs, featuring Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Türkiye, Ukraine and Wales.
The other two tickets will come from the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament, where Bolivia, DR Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname will battle for qualification.
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In Group A, hosts Mexico were drawn with South Africa, Korea and the winner of Play-off D while in Group B, hosts Canada will face the winner of Play-off A, 2022 hosts Qatar and Switzerland. Group C sees five-time champions Brazil take on Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
In Group D, hosts USA will go up against Paraguay, Australia and the winner of Play-off C while Germany are in Group E alongside Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador. In Group F, the Netherlands will face Japan, Tunisia and the winner of Play-off B.
Belgium headline Group G with Egypt, Iran and New Zealand completing the group. European champions Spain are placed in Group H with Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay while Group I will see 2022 finalists France take on Senegal, Norway and the winner of Play-off 2.
Reigning champions Argentina are drawn in Group J with Algeria, Austria and Jordan. In Group K, Portugal will face Uzbekistan, Colombia and the winner of Play-off 1 and England are in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama.
WORLD CUP SCHEDULE
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expanded 48-team tournament will be played in 16 cities and the final will be hosted at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The full schedule is as follows:
- Group stage: June 11–27
- Round of 32: June 28 – July 3
- Round of 16: July 4–7
- Quarterfinals: July 9–11
- Semifinals: July 14–15
- Third-place match: July 18
- Final: July 19
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