Everything You Need to Know About the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw

The Final Draw for the 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026 is set for Friday, Dec. 5 at 12 p.m. ET and will be hosted at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The draw will assign 48 teams into 12 groups of four to determine each nation’s FIFA World Cup path. Following Friday’s draw, FIFA will unveil an updated match schedule to assign a date, time and location to each match on Saturday, Dec. 6.

U.S. Soccer will host The Road to ‘26 Draw Show, presented by Visa, in New York City’s Times Square. The watch party will feature the final draw on the big screen, a 5v5 mini-pitch tournament with the chance to compete for prizes, and live commentary from special guests. More information about the exclusive opportunity can be found here.

HOW TO WATCH IN ENGLISH & SPANISH

The final draw will be broadcast live on FOX with English commentary; pre-draw coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET, the draw will take place between 12 and 2 p.m. ET, and post-draw analysis will conclude at 3 p.m. ET.

Spanish commentary can be found on Telemundo, with pre-draw coverage starting at 10 a.m. ET and concluding with post-draw analysis at 3 p.m. ET. Telemundo Deportes will also host an exclusive Watch Party livestream across social media from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, offering fans an alternative “alt-cast” experience of the final draw.

The final draw will also be available to stream on FIFA.com. Spanish radio coverage of the final draw will be available on Fútbol de Primera.

QUALIFIED TEAMS

The following 42 teams have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

• Co-hosts (3): Canada, Mexico, USA
• AFC (8): Australia, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
• CAF (9): Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
• Concacaf (3): Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
• CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
• OFC (1): New Zealand
• UEFA (12): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

REMAINING TEAMS

Six of the 48 spots at FIFA World Cup 2026 remain up for grabs, with four coming from the 16-team UEFA play-offs and the final two coming from the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament. The final six participants will be decided in March 2026.

1. UEFA play-offs (4): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Türkiye, Ukraine, Wales
2. FIFA Play-Off Tournament (2): Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Suriname

POTS AND PROCEDURES

The final draw will begin with all the teams from Pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It will then continue with Pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order. All final draw protocols are stipulated in FIFA’s Draw Procedures.

Hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA will be allocated to Pot 1 before the remaining 39 qualified teams are allocated to the pots according to the FIFA Men’s World Ranking issued on Nov. 19, 2025. The final six entrants determined by the UEFA and FIFA play-offs will be allocated to Pot 4.

Each group is limited to no more than one team from each confederation, aside from UEFA. Each group will have a minimum of one European team and a maximum of two.

1. Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
2. Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
3. Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
4. Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Play-Off A, B, C and D, FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1 and 2