How Does the 2026 World Cup Draw Work? Pots and Format Explained
The 2026 World Cup is fast approaching.
It’s almost Christmas (can you believe it?), and before long we’ll be in 2026—meaning we’re just months away from the largest World Cup in history, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and kicking off on June 11.
But even before the New Year arrives, we’ll get our first taste of World Cup fever with the official draw. That’s when we’ll finally learn who faces who in the group stage, and get an early glimpse at how the knockout bracket might unfold.
With the upcoming tournament featuring 48 teams instead of the traditional 32, you might be wondering: How exactly will the draw work?
Don’t worry. We’ve broken it all down for you.
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How Will the 2026 World Cup Draw Work?
There were initial plans for the 48 teams to be split into 16 groups of three, but FIFA ultimately chose to stick with a more familiar format for 2026: 12 groups of four.
For the draw, the 48 teams will be divided into four pots of 12.
Pot 1 contains the three hosts—the USMNT, Canada and Mexico—followed by the nine highest-ranked qualified nations based on the November 2025 FIFA Men’s World Ranking. Pots 2, 3 and 4 will then be filled by the remaining qualified teams in ranking order, with Pot 2 holding the strongest of that group and Pot 4 the lowest-ranked.
Not all 48 teams are known at the time of the draw—only 42 have qualified—with the final six places to be settled in March 2026 play-offs. Those unknown teams are nevertheless assigned to Pot 4, regardless of where they sit in the rankings.
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From there, the 12 groups are formed by drawing one team from each pot—though, as always with FIFA draws, there are caveats.
Teams from the same confederation cannot be placed in the same group, with the exception of UEFA nations, for which groups must contain at least one and no more than two. The three co-hosts are also locked into predetermined groups for scheduling and travel reasons: Mexico in Group A, Canada in Group B and the USMNT in Group D.
FIFA has added another wrinkle “in the interest of competitive balance.” The top four non-host nations in the rankings will be split across opposite pathways: Spain and Argentina on one side of the bracket, France and England on the other. If all four win their groups, they cannot meet until the semifinals—and those placed on opposite sides wouldn’t collide until the final.
Slip up and finish second or third, however, and that neat separation disappears immediately.
Once a team is drawn, it is placed into the first available group alphabetically, with the draw software ensuring all the above restrictions are respected. And unlike previous tournaments, where teams were drawn directly into their group position, this time all seeded sides (Pot 1) automatically occupy position one, with a predetermined grid later deciding how the remaining teams slot into the schedule.
Complex, we know, but in the simplest possible terms: Four pots of 12, one team from each pot in every group—with hosts fixed, confederations separated and the world’s top sides carefully spread out.
Confirmed Pots for the 2026 World Cup Draw
Here are the confirmed pots for the 2026 World Cup draw—along with each team’s seed and current FIFA World Ranking.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
1. USA (14) | 13. Croatia (10) | 25. Norway (29) | 37. Jordan (66) |
2. Mexico (15) | 14. Morocco (11) | 26. Panama (30) | 38. Cape Verde (68) |
3. Canada (27) | 15. Colombia (13) | 27. Egypt (34) | 39. Ghana (72) |
4. Spain (1) | 16. Uruguay (16) | 28. Algeria (35) | 40. Curaçao (82) |
5. Argentina (2) | 17. Switzerland (17) | 29. Scotland (36) | 41. Haiti (84) |
6. France (3) | 18. Japan (18) | 30. Paraguay (39) | 42. New Zealand (86) |
7. England (4) | 19. Senegal (19) | 31. Tunisia (40) | 43. UEFA Play-Offs Path A Winner |
8. Brazil (5) | 20. Iran (20) | 32. Ivory Coast (42) | 44. UEFA Play-Offs Path B Winner |
9. Portugal (6) | 21. South Korea (22) | 33. Uzbekistan (50) | 45. UEFA Play-Offs Path C Winner |
10. Netherlands (7) | 22. Ecuador (23) | 34. Qatar (51) | 46. UEFA Play-Offs Path D Winner |
11. Belgium (8) | 23. Austria (24) | 35. Saudi Arabia (60) | 47. IC Play-Off 1 Winner |
12. Germany (9) | 24. Australia (26) | 36. South Africa (61) | 48. IC Play-Off 2 Winner |
How are the Remaining Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup Determined?
The final six spots for the 2026 World Cup will be decided through two separate pathways: The UEFA play-offs and the interconfederation play-offs.
The UEFA pathway offers four places and features 16 teams: The 12 runners-up from the European Qualifiers group stage, plus four teams that qualified via the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League. These teams will contest eight semifinals and four finals, with the winners of the finals earning World Cup qualification.
The UEFA play-off semifinals are set as follows:
- Italy vs. Northern Ireland
- Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Ukraine vs. Sweden
- Poland vs. Albania
- Turkey vs. Romania
- Slovakia vs. Kosovo
- Denmark vs. North Macedonia
- Czech Republic vs. Republic of Ireland
Meanwhile, the interconfederation play-offs will decide the final two World Cup spots, with six teams competing across two separate pathways.
The two highest-ranked sides, DR Congo and Iraq, are seeded and automatically placed in each pathway’s final. The remaining four teams face off in semifinals—New Caledonia vs. Jamaica and Bolivia vs. Suriname—with the winners advancing to meet the seeded teams.
The victors of each final will then claim the last two places at the 2026 World Cup.
What Time Is the 2026 World Cup Draw?
The group-stage draw for the 2026 World Cup takes place on Friday, Dec. 5, and will be held at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Proceedings kick off at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. GMT), and both President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino will be at the event.
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