Where to watch: All you need to know about the 2026 World Cup draw | OneFootball

The draw for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will take place on Friday, December 5, starting at 2:00 PM at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, located in Washington D.C. The Argentina National Team, defending champions, will be one of the seeded teams and will be in Pot 1. Find out all the details below.

Format and Regulations for the 2026 World Cup Draw

The 48 teams will be distributed into four different pots based on their position in the FIFA ranking. From there, 12 groups of 4 teams each will be formed.

Additionally, for the first time, a rule will be applied that prevents Spain and Argentina from facing each other before the final if both lead their groups, since both teams occupy the first and second spots in the ranking. The same situation applies to England and France (third and fourth places) and to the United States twice, as they should not face Mexico and Canada until the decisive match, as long as the aforementioned teams top their groups.

The host nations will be assigned to different groups to ensure that each one plays matches in its own country during the group stage. At the same time, the highest-ranked teams will be designated as seeded teams, allowing them to avoid facing each other in the first phase.

A rule returning after 32 years is that the eight best third-placed teams will qualify for the next round, where they will face the leaders of groups E, G, I, L, and K. Meanwhile, the remaining teams will face the leaders of groups A, B, and D, in which the seeded teams have already been confirmed (Mexico, Canada, and the United States, respectively).

As usual, FIFA sets rules to prevent teams from the same confederation from facing each other in the same group, except for UEFA, where up to two are allowed. With this in mind, Bolivia, being in Playoff 2 along with Suriname and Iraq, could not face teams from CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, or AFC. Therefore, they will definitely face one African team and two European teams, one of which will be from Pot 1.

In the case of Playoff 2, composed of Jamaica, New Caledonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the restrictions prevent matchups with CONCACAF, OFC, and CAF. Therefore, if paired with a South American team from the first pot (Argentina or Brazil), the other two teams will necessarily come from Europe and Asia.

Pots for the 2026 World Cup Draw

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.