The World Cup draw takes place today - here's everything you need to know

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 4 Dec 2025 08:46 CST
• 8 min read

Analysis

Today the football world stands still as the draw for the 2026 World Cup group stage takes place.

The next edition of the World Cup will be the biggest ever, with 48 nations set to compete in the tournament next summer across the United States, Canada and Mexico - an increase of 16 teams from the previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on Friday, 5 December at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, at 17:00 GMT.

The 48 participating teams will be placed into four pots of 12 based on Fifa rankings.

42 of those teams have been confirmed after the last round of qualifying matches.

The remaining six slots will be decided via the World Cup playoffs that will take place in March. Four more European nations will qualify as well as two from the rest of the world.

Initially, all Pot 1 teams will be drawn to Groups A to L. The same procedure will then repeat for Pots 2,3 and 4.

The host countries already know their schedule, which was outlined in 2024, and will therefore be given different-coloured balls in the draw. Mexico will be green and the first country to be drawn, followed by Canada in red and the USA in blue.

The remaining teams will all have the same colour (white).

FIFA has changed its system to prevent the world's best teams from meeting too early in the competition, which it claims will "ensure competitive balance."

FIFA's explanation reads as follows: "To ensure competitive balance, two separate pathways to the semi-finals have been established when developing the match schedule.

"In order to have a balanced distribution of the teams, the four highest-ranked teams in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s Ranking, when drawn, will have the following constraints: the highest-ranked team (Spain) and the second highest-ranked team (Argentina) will be randomly drawn into opposite pathways, and the same principle will apply to the third (France) and fourth (England) highest-ranked teams.

"This will ensure that, should they win their groups, the two highest-ranked teams will not meet before the final."

Because of the large number of UEFA nations (16) in the tournament, it will be the only confederation where more than one team can be drawn into a group, up to a maximum of two. The other confederations will only have one country per group.

Once all the Pot 1 teams have been drawn, the teams from the remaining pots will be assigned a predefined position within each group.

Who is hosting the World Cup draw in Washington?

Former Manchester United and England star Rio Ferdinand has been selected to host the draw and he'll be aided by award-winning broadcaster Samantha Johnson.

There will be sporting greats assisting with the draw itself, with Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal, Wayne Gretzky and Aaron Judge all representing popular American sports - Football, Basketball, Hockey and Baseball.

Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and The Village People will perform on the stage as musical acts.

FIFA' Peace Prize and Donald Trump

United States president Donald Trump will be in attendance at the draw and is reportedly in line to receive FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize.

FIFA announced in November that it would hand out its newly-created award peace prize at the ceremony.

“In an increasingly unsettled and divided world, it’s fundamental to recognise the outstanding contribution of those who work hard to end conflicts and bring people together in a spirit of peace," a statement from FIFA and president Gianni Infantino read.

“Football stands for peace, and on behalf of the entire global football community, the FIFA Peace Prize - Football Unites the World will recognise the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations.”

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Trump will attend the draw, and he is "expected" to be named the FIFA Peace Prize's inaugural winner after being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize in October.

Which European nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland have all qualified from the UEFA region.

This one's for you.#FIFAWorldCup | #SCODEN pic.twitter.com/XH1g5a48vf

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 25, 2025

There was incredible drama on the last day of qualifying as five nations booked their place on the final game of qualification.

Which CONCACAF nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

From CONCACAF, the United States, Mexico and Canada already qualified as hosts.

Panama, Curacao and Haiti qualified in November.

Curacao drew with Jamaica to secure qualification to subsequently become the smallest nation in history ever to reach the World Cup. It has a population of around 150,000 and a land area of 171 square miles.

Which CAF nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Senegal and Ivory Coast all qualified as group winners over September and October.

As CAF playoff winners, DR Congo will join Bolivia, New Caledonia, Iraq, Jamaica and Suriname in the inter-confederation playoffs.

Which CONMEBOL nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying ended in September, with Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay all booking their place at the 2026 tournament via finishing in the top six of the South American standings.

Argentina were fairly emphatic as they won 12 of their 18 matches but Brazil were less convincing as they progressed with a record of eight wins, four draws and six losses.

Bolivia will pay in the intercontinental playoffs.

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Which AFC nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

Eight nations from Asia have qualified for the World Cup. Iraq beat the United Arab Emirates in a regional playoff in November to get the chance to feature in the intercontinental playoffs in March.

Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Australia have all secured qualification for the World Cup from the AFC after finishing inside the top two places of their respective groups.

Which OFC nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

New Zealand beat New Caledonia 3-0 in the OFC’s World Cup qualifying final to secure the confederation’s only direct spot at the tournament.