The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was held at 12:00 UTC−5 (EST) on December 5, 2025, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., United States. It set the stage for the round-robin group stage in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, where the World Cup will be played. The teams were divided into four pots of twelve, with one team selected from each pot to form a group.
As hosts, Mexico, Canada, and the United States were seeded. They took positions A1, B1, and D1, respectively, from Pot 1, where they were joined by the top nine qualified teams in the FIFA rankings. The countries occupying positions 13 to 24 on the ranking of the qualified teams were allocated to Pot 2, while the 25th to 36th best-ranked qualifiers were placed in Pot 3. Finally, Pot 4 included the qualified teams in positions 37 to 42, plus six placeholders – two for the winners of the inter-confederation playoffs, and four for the winners of the European playoffs.[1] The final six teams to qualify were determined in these playoffs played on March 26 and 31, 2026, during the FIFA International Match Calendar.[2]
Ceremony
editThe draw ceremony was hosted by Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum, and Danny Ramirez. The ceremony also featured live performances from Andrea Bocelli, Lauryn Hill, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robbie Williams. In addition, Village People performed their song "Y.M.C.A." following the conclusion of the draw.[3] The draw itself was conducted by Rio Ferdinand, with Samantha Johnson as co-conductor and Eli Manning as the red carpet host. Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge, and Shaquille O'Neal acted as draw assistants.[4]
The draw was attended by the coaches and representatives from 64 teams — the 42 qualified teams and the 22 teams participating in either the inter-confederation or the European playoffs.[5] Also in attendance were Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, and American president Donald Trump.[6]
Iran had initially announced that it would boycott the ceremony after Mehdi Taj, the president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), was denied a visa to enter the United States.[7] However, the FFIRI later stated that it had reversed its decision, and would be sending representatives led by coach Amir Ghalenoei.[8]
Prior to the draw, FIFA head Gianni Infantino presented the very first FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump.[9][10][11] FIFA stated that the award recognized his "involvement in ceasefire efforts and diplomatic engagements in several conflicts".[12][13][14] The creation of the prize and the choice of Trump as its first recipient generated widespread ridicule, scrutiny and controversy. Human rights groups, analysts, and soccer stakeholders questioned the transparency of the selection process, the suitability of the inaugural laureate, and the implications both for FIFA's claims of political neutrality and its human rights commitments.[15][16][17][18]
Seeding
editThe 42 known teams were seeded based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of November 19, 2025 (shown in parentheses).[19] The six unknown placeholders representing the playoff winners were automatically placed in Pot 4.[20]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Draw constraints and procedure
editTwo teams from the same confederation could not be placed in the same group, with the exception of UEFA for which there had to be at least one but no more than two teams in each group. The confederation restriction applied to all three potential winners of the inter-confederation playoffs. FIFA also announced that, "in the interest of ensuring competitive balance", two separate pathways to the semifinals (sides of the knockout bracket) were established. Based on this, the teams ranked first (Spain) and second (Argentina) in the ranking were randomly drawn into groups in opposite pathways, as were the teams ranked third (France) and fourth (England). Therefore, if these pairs of teams were to win their groups (all four ultimately did), they would be unable to meet until the final, while all four would be unable to meet until the semifinals.
Despite the procedure stating that the three co-hosts would be identified by different colored balls and placed in pre-defined positions as per the match schedule, the draw for the co-hosts was instead performed by their respective heads of government, who drew their own nations out. The draw then started with the remaining nine teams in Pot 1 who were identified by nine balls of the same color and allocated to position 1 of the group into which they were drawn. For pots 2, 3 and 4, each team's group position was determined according to a predefined allocation pattern, which was published by FIFA as a part of the draw procedures as follows:[21][22]
- Groups A, D, G, J
- Position 2: Team from Pot 3
- Position 3: Team from Pot 2
- Position 4: Team from Pot 4
- Groups B, E, H, K
- Position 2: Team from Pot 4
- Position 3: Team from Pot 3
- Position 4: Team from Pot 2
- Groups C, F, I, L
- Position 2: Team from Pot 2
- Position 3: Team from Pot 4
- Position 4: Team from Pot 3
Final draw
editThe twelve groups were formed randomly, selecting one team from each of the four pots. The three hosts' positions in the draw was predetermined – Mexico in A1, Canada in B1, and the United States in D1. Unlike previous editions, the position of unseeded teams in each group was also predetermined as opposed to being randomly drawn.
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See also
editNotes
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 The winners of the UEFA playoffs and inter-confederation playoffs were not known at the time of the draw, as those matches were held on 26 and 31 March 2026.
- ↑ The placeholder for the inter-confederation playoff Pathway 1 winner adhered to the confederation restrictions of a CAF, CONCACAF, or OFC team.
- ↑ The placeholder for the inter-confederation playoff Pathway 2 winner adhered to the confederation restrictions of an AFC, CONCACAF, or CONMEBOL team.
- ↑ UEFA Path D winners
- ↑ UEFA Path A winners
- ↑ UEFA Path C winners
- ↑ UEFA Path B winners
- ↑ IC Path 2 winners
- ↑ IC Path 1 winners
References
edit- ↑ "Final draw: Everything you need to know". FIFA. November 20, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ↑ McLaughlin, Luke; Munday, Billy (November 20, 2025). "World Cup 2026 playoffs draw: Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland, Italy v Northern Ireland – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Star-studded entertainment line-up announced for the Final Draw". FIFA. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ↑ "Legendary multi-sport line-up to assist Rio Ferdinand at the Final Draw". FIFA. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Anticipation intensifies for climactic, "tantalising" FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw". Inside FIFA. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Heads of Government from host countries convene for Final Draw". Inside FIFA. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ↑ MacInnes, Paul (November 28, 2025). "Iran to boycott World Cup draw over lack of visa for federation president". The Guardian. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ↑ "Iran takes a U-turn from decision to boycott FIFA World Cup draw, will now send representatives". Hindustan Times. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- ↑ Graham, Bryan Armen; Beaumont, Peter (December 5, 2025). "Trump awarded inaugural Fifa peace prize at World Cup draw in Washington". The Guardian. London. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ Kim, Seung Min (December 5, 2025). "FIFA gives Trump a peace prize in a departure from its traditional focus on sport". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw". Sky News. December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ "FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World". FIFA. December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Donald Trump awarded first FIFA 'peace prize' at football World Cup draw". Dawn. Karachi. December 6, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ Church, Ben (December 6, 2025). "What is the FIFA Peace Prize and why did Donald Trump win?". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ Harb, Ali (December 6, 2025). "Infantino's 'Peace Prize' to Trump raises questions about FIFA's neutrality". Al Jazeera. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Global: FIFA needs to act on human rights". Amnesty International. December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ "Asia's deadly rains, Haiti's election plan, and Trump's peace prize – Cheat sheet". The New Humanitarian. December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ↑ Smith, David (December 5, 2025). "Trump wins his peace prize from Fifa – any chance of a VAR review?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ↑ "FIFA Men's World Ranking: 19 November 2025". FIFA. November 19, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ↑ "FIFA 2026: World Cup draw to separate Spain, Argentina, France and England until final rounds". France 24. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ↑ "Draw Procedures for the FIFA World Cup 2026" (pdf). FIFA. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ↑ Johnson, Dale (November 25, 2025). "Fifa to keep top seeds apart in World Cup draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved November 27, 2025.