The FIFA World Cup draw is an event that only takes place once every four years, but it goes a long way in determining the morale of footballing nations heading into the sport’s most prestigious global tournament.
A record 48 teams will participate in the 2026 tournament, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the draw includes several new adjustments to spread out the participating teams from the contenders.
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Here’s what you need to know before assigning those all-important little plastic balls to your pots.
When and where will the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw be held?
The drawing will begin at 12:00 noon (5:00 GMT) on Friday, December 5th at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
How is the World Cup draw done?
The draw starts with pot 1, with 12 seeded teams divided into groups A to L as determined by FIFA. These teams are:
Top 4 countries: Spain, Argentina, France, England Next top 5 countries: Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal 3 seeding spots allocated to host country: Canada, Mexico, USA
The process will then continue with pots 2, 3 and 4, FIFA explained.
Of the 22 countries competing until the playoffs in March, there are six spots remaining for the World Cup.
Italy, four-time World Cup winners and 12th in the FIFA rankings, are participating in the play-offs and could move into Pot 4 if they qualify.
First-time entrant Uzbekistan is in pot three, while fellow first-time entrants Jordan, Cape Verde and Curaçao are in pot four.
What are the rules for the World Cup draw?
The names of each country are printed on slips of paper, which are folded and placed inside plastic balls numbered from 1 to 4 to represent one of the four pots.
The lottery representative mixes the balls in large glass bowls (pots) and removes one ball at a time from each pot to form groups.
Groups have been decided in advance for the three host countries, with Mexico in Group A, Canada in Group B, and the United States in Group D.
The other top nine FIFA seeds will be distributed among the remaining nine groups: C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L.
For the remaining 36 teams, there is less certainty, but certain rules apply.
As a general rule, no group will have more than one team from the same federation. The 16-nation UEFA team is an exception to this rule, with a maximum of two European teams allowed in the same group.
When can the top seeds play in the World Cup?
The 2026 World Cup draw will reward the top four teams (Spain, Argentina, France, and England) and place them in separate sections (quadrants) of a new tennis-style seeding tournament bracket.
FIFA has announced that if the top four countries finish their respective round-robin groups first, they will avoid each other until the semi-finals.
Therefore, it is certain that defending champion Argentina (ranked 2nd), with Lionel Messi, and Europe’s top champion Spain (ranked 1st), with Lamine Yamal, will not face each other until the final at MetLife Stadium near New York.
Which other teams are in the pot?
Currently, 42 of the 48 teams have qualified for the World Cup, with the remaining six countries scheduled to be decided in March 2026.
Teams will be randomly drawn from each of the four pots and assigned to one of 12 groups in Friday’s drawing.
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany (3 hosts and 9 top seeds)
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, South Africa
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Playoff Winners A, B, C, D, Intercontinental Playoff Winners 1 and 2
Why is Iran boycotting the World Cup draw?
Iran has decided to boycott the World Cup draw after the United States refused to issue visas to members of the Iranian delegation, state news agency IRNA reported on Friday.
The agency quoted Iranian Football Federation spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi as saying that officials faced visa obstacles that go beyond sporting considerations.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Alavi said the federation has contacted FIFA and hopes they can help resolve the issue.
In June, President Donald Trump’s administration announced a travel ban for nationals of 12 countries, including Iran, but promised exemptions for “any athlete or member of a sports team, including coaches, essential support personnel, and immediate family members, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”
It is unclear whether this exemption also applies to the World Cup draw.
How to watch
Live coverage of the 2026 World Cup draw will be provided on FIFA.com and the FIFA World Cup social media channels. The draw will also be broadcast by FIFA’s media partners.
Al Jazeera Sports will provide live text commentary of the draw.
