World Cup 2026 draw: date, start time, qualified teams and how it works

The 48 nations competing at the 2026 World Cup will know their group stage opponents when the draw takes place on December 5.

there will be a tournament First to feature 48 teamsQatar will also have the first World Cup, expanded from 32, and hosted by three countries. Most of the games (78) will be staged usawith Mexico And Canada Each hosting 13.

The World Cup begins on June 11 at Mexico’s historic Azteca Stadium, scene of Brazil’s glory in the Pele-inspired 1970 and Argentina’s success in the Diego Maradona-inspired 1986. It will conclude with the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is the draw of World Cup 2026?

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on Friday 5 December at 5pm GMT/12am EST at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. US President Donald Trump is expected to be present.

How does the World Cup draw work?

The 48 countries will be divided into 12 groups, each consisting of four teams, one from each of the four draw pots.

Pot One will feature the nine top nations in the FIFA world rankings that have qualified for the tournament, in addition to the three host nations – the United States, Canada and Mexico. Mexico has already been placed in Group A, Canada in Group B and America in Group C.

Pots two, three and four will consist of the next 12 best ranked teams so that, in theory, the groups will be balanced and the best teams will be kept apart until the knockout rounds.

Teams from the same confederation will be placed separately in the group stage, except in Europe where there are more teams (13) than in the group (12). There will be no more than two European nations in any group.

How the new World Cup format works

The top two finishers in each group will automatically qualify for the last-32 along with the eight best third-placed teams.

The ranking of the third-placed teams will be determined based on points, then goal difference, then goals scored. If two or more teams are still tied, the “team conduct score” will come into play (a yellow card is minus one point, a red card through two yellow cards is minus three points, and a straight red card is minus four points). If there is still a tie, the team with the highest world ranking will advance.

How are World Cup places allocated?

Each continental confederation has a certain number of countries participating in the World Cup. Europe has the maximum number of 13 teams and Africa has five teams. Play-offs between other confederations will decide how many of their teams are represented in the tournament.

UEFA (Europe): 13 places

CAF (Africa): 5 places

AFC (Asia): 4-5 places

CONMEBOL (South America): 4-5 places

CONCACAF (North America): 3-4 places

OFC (Oceania): 0-1 place

Who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup?