⌛Just one day to go: key points for the 2026 World Cup draw | OneFootball

The countdown to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ officially begins this Friday with the celebration of the Final Draw. The ceremony will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, where the 12 groups of four teams each for the championship will be determined.

In total, 42 already qualified teams and six spots yet to be decided were distributed into four pots of 12 teams each, based on the November FIFA ranking.

Seeded teams and a key restriction

Pot 1 will be headed by the hosts—Mexico (Group A), Canada (Group B), and the United States (Group D)—and the nine highest-ranked teams, including Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The procedure will have a key restriction: Spain and Argentina, the two best teams in the world, will be placed on opposite sides of the tournament bracket. FIFA’s goal is for these two giants to only be able to meet in a hypothetical final. The same rule will apply to France and England (3rd and 4th in the ranking).

The draw procedure

After determining the seeded teams, Pots 2, 3, and 4 will be drawn. FIFA will maintain the rule that no two teams from the same confederation can be in the same group, except for UEFA, due to its 16 representatives. Each group will have at least one European team and no more than two.

Pot 4 will contain the lowest-ranked teams and the six spots yet to be decided through playoffs and European qualifiers.

The knockout stage: a major change

With the new 48-team format, 32 teams will advance to the knockout stage. The matchups are already set: the 12 group leaders, the 12 runners-up, and the 8 best third-placed teams will play in the round of 32. The hosts (Mexico, Canada, USA) already know that, if they win their groups, they will face a third-placed team, and a possible clash between Mexico and Canada could occur if both finish second in their groups.

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

📸 FABRICE COFFRINI - AFP or licensors