The 48 teams that will contest the biggest FIFA World Cup in history were divided into 12 groups on Friday, marking the first major step towards next summer’s expanded tournament across North America.
The draw ceremony took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where US President Donald J. Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino to represent the three countries co-hosting the expanded global soccer tournament.
“This will be the greatest FIFA World Cup ever. The greatest event humanity will ever see,” Infantino said ahead of the draw.
“I will put it in terms that the American public will understand,” he added. “The World Cup is like 104 Super Bowls in one month.”
Friday’s festivities were hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and actor/comedian Kevin Hart and kicked off with a performance by legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger sang the official FIFA anthem ‘Desire’, followed by the presentation of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Trump. The draw included Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal and Aaron Judge.
Forty-two nations have qualified. The other six participants are yet to be determined through the UEFA play-offs and inter-confederations to be held in March.
In 188 days, Mexico will play their first match of the tournament on June 11 against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The full World Cup schedule, including facilities and start times, will be confirmed at noon ET on Saturday.
The United States is in Group D along with Australia, Paraguay and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff group (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo).
Team USA will play Paraguay on June 12 (Inglewood, Calif.), Australia on June 19 (Seattle) and the third team member on June 25 (Inglewood, Calif.).
Mexico is in Group A with South Korea, South Africa and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff group (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic or Ireland).
Canada is joined in Group B by Switzerland, Qatar and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff group (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina).
The top two from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the last 32 for the knockout stage.
The championship game will be played on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
The games are held in 16 cities across North America, including two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver) and three in Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara).
Locations across the US are Atlanta, Boston (Foxborough, MA), Dallas (Arlington, TX), Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles (Inglewood, CA), Miami (Miami Gardens, FL), New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ), Philadelphia, San Francisco (San Francisco) and California.
The pre-tournament favorites, according to DraftKings, are Spain (+450), England (+600), France (+700), Brazil (+800) and Argentina (+800).
Argentina are the defending World Cup champions, with superstar Lionel Messi leading the team to the title at the 32-team tournament in Qatar in 2022.
The rest of the FIFA World Cup 2026 groups:
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curaçao
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, TBD (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania)
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, TBD (Bolivia, Suriname or Iraq)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, TBD (New Caledonia, Jamaica or DR Congo)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
a href=”https://www.geo.tv/latest/637668-48-teams-12-groups-fifa-world-cup-2026-draw-sets-stage-for-biggest-tournament-ever”>Source link
