This Friday, right here in the District at the Kennedy Center, soccer legends from all over the globe will be present to witness the official FIFA World Cup 2026 draw!
The event, which is set to have millions tune in to its live broadcast, will seal the fates for soccer fans and their nations from around the world, as it will determine the groups for all 48 national teams that are competing.
When is the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw taking place?
The event is set to start promptly at noon this Friday, December 5th, to ensure the best possible viewing time for other international markets, such as Europe and South America, which will be tuning in to watch the live broadcast.
What celebrities are going to be involved in this event?
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Hosting the event on stage will be Heidi Klum & Kevin Hart.
The ‘Red Carpet’ host will be Eli Manning.
And ‘Draw Assistants’ will include Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Of course, there will be many soccer legends from around the world also in attendance, but they will not all be directly involved in the event itself, save for the occasional quick interview.
What is the final draw for the FIFA World Cup?
The final draw is the official ceremony where FIFA places each of the 48 qualifying national teams into groups for the tournament.
Typically, groups are named ‘A’ through ‘H’, each consisting of just four teams; for instance, in 2022’s World Cup, the United States was placed in ‘Group B’ alongside England, Iran, and Wales.
This year, however, as they have added more teams to the tournament, the groups will go up to ‘L’.
What national teams are going to be included in the final drawing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
There will be a total of 48 national teams that qualify for the FIFA World Cup; however, not all qualifying teams have been selected yet.
So far, 42 teams have qualified for their place in the tournament; here they are, grouped into the pots for the draw:
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, 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, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, four European playoff teams, two intercontinental playoff teams.
How are the final six teams being selected?
The remaining six spots in the upcoming World Cup will be decided in the spring of 2026 via a playoff.
First, there will be an intercontinental playoff, which will feature six national teams from around the globe competing for two slots in the World Cup.
Semifinals — March 26, 2026
New Caledonia vs. Jamaica (in Guadalajara, Mexico)
Bolivia vs. Suriname (in Monterrey, Mexico)
Finals — March 31, 2026
New Caledonia/ Jamaica vs. DR Congo (in Guadalajara, Mexico; winner advances to World Cup)
Bolivia/Suriname vs. Iraq (in Monterrey, Mexico; winner advances to the World Cup)
The remaining four slots are reserved for four national teams from Europe (UEFA), but as 12 nations are still vying for these four final spots, they are hosting a playoff of their own as well.
Those 12 teams are:
- Albania
- Bosnia And Herzegovina
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Northern Ireland
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Ireland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Sweden
- Wales
- Turkey
- Ukraine
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How does the draw ceremony work?
The draw will feature four pots, each containing a dozen plastic balls with a specific nation’s name written on a slip of paper inside.
Pot 1 features Canada, USA, and Mexico as the host nations for the World Cup, and the remaining 9 highest-ranking teams from international play since the previous World Cup in 2022.
The remaining pots are filled according to each national team’s rank, with the final 6 spots of Pot 4 being given placeholders until the playoffs determine which national team earns a spot in the tournament.
The selection process will begin by immediately placing the host nations as the first team for groups A (Mexico), B (Canada), and D (USA). This is already known as a result of FIFA’s previous release of a limited match schedule last year.
The remaining available slots for each group will then be filled by one ‘draw’ from each pot, ensuring 12 balanced groups of 4 teams for the World Cup’s opening group stage.