World Cup 2026 final draw: All you need to know

The road to the biggest FIFA World Cup in history just got shorter. After a dramatic final round of qualification matches, the final draw for the 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026 is imminent.

The expanded tournament, which kicks off on June 11, 2026, and concludes on July 19, will be hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Here is a breakdown of all the essential details you need for the highly anticipated draw.

When and Where is the FIFA World Cup Draw?

The Final Draw will be hosted in the US capital:

Date: Friday, 5 December 2025

Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Time (ET)

Venue: Kennedy Centre, Washington, DC., USA

Teams Confirmed So Far (42 Nations)

The vast majority of the 48 spots have been filled, with 42 nations already locking in their tickets to North America.

Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA

AFC (Asia): Australia, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan

CAF (Africa): Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Concacaf (N. America): Curaçao, Haiti, Panama

CONMEBOL (S. America): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

OFC (Oceania): New Zealand

UEFA (Europe): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

The Draw Procedure & Pots

The 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of four (Groups A through L). The three co-hosts have been automatically assigned: Mexico (A1), Canada (B1), and USA (D1). Teams are seeded based on the FIFA World Rankings into four pots of 12.

Pot Allocation Highlights

Pot 1 (Top Seeds): Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany

Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR 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 (Includes Playoff Winners): Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, plus the six teams that qualify via the European and Intercontinental Playoffs.

Special Note: To ensure maximum viewer excitement, top seeds like Spain, Argentina, France, and England will be placed in opposite halves of the draw to ensure they can only potentially meet in the final match.

The Remaining Six Spots

The final six participants will be determined in March 2026 through two high-stakes play-off mechanisms:

UEFA Play-Offs (4 Spots): 16 European nations—including Albania, Italy, Sweden, and more—will contest a knockout bracket for the remaining four European places.

Intercontinental Play-Off Tournament (2 Spots): Six teams from different continents (Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia, and Suriname) will compete in a mini-tournament for the final two spots in the World Cup.

How to Watch

The full draw ceremony will be broadcast globally by FIFA’s Media Partners.

Online: Follow live text and video updates on FIFA.com and across the official FIFA World Cup social media channels.

Broadcast: The draw will be shown by various television and streaming partners worldwide.