FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw: Everything You Need To Know - Pots, Teams, And Tournament Format

The FIFA World Cup is once again in the spotlight as fans gear up for the upcoming 2026 edition. The excitement for the fans will kick start with the FIFA 2026 World Cup draw on Friday, December 5, 2025. The draw is set to take place in Washington, DC, with big names in sports, including NFL star Tom Brady, MLB star Aaron Judge, and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, among others.

48 teams will be split into 12 equal groups, A to L, of four each, and the top nine nations, along with three co-hosts, will be a part of Pot one. Notably, as per tradition, the hosts, Mexico (Group A), Canada (Group B), and the USA (Group D) have already received their groups.

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FIFA 2026 World Cup Pots

The 48 teams have been divided into four pots of 12 nations each based on their rankings.

Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.

Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia.

Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.

Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Playoff A, B, C, and D, FIFA Playoff Tournament 1 and 2.

How Will The Draw Work?

The World Cup will have 12 groups (A-L) of four groups each. Every nation from Pot 1 will be put into groups from A to L. This will be repeated for the remaining pots.

The Format Of the 2026 World Cup Tournament

For the upcoming tournament, every team will play three group-stage matches in the expanded round-robin format. The top two teams from each of the 12 groups will enter the knockouts, while the eight strongest third-placed teams from each group will also progress to the round of 32.

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What Happens After The Draw

Once the groups are set, FIFA will release the official match schedule, including dates, kick-off timings, stadium assignment, and city allocation across the co-hosts.