The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place in Washington, DC, on Friday. Flashscore had reporters on the ground at the event. Check out the full groups for football’s showpiece event below.
21:00 CET – The draw was not the easiest to follow, certainly not for the hosts, but at least the groups are all laid out now.
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However, we are still waiting to find out who the final six participants will be of the 48 total nations, and they will be determined in March’s playoff tournaments.
A quick reminder: Four nations will come from the European playoff paths, and two will come from the inter-confederational paths.
Here’s everything you need to know about the European Play-Offs, and every you need to know about the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.
20:35 CET – Well, what a rush! The 2026 World Cup groups are drawn, and we have some potentially fascinating matchups…
Probably the closest to a ‘group of death’ we got is Group I, comprising France, Norway, Senegal and one of the FIFA playoff winners. Elsewhere, Spain got grouped with Uruguay in Group H, while Brazil were paired with Morocco in C.
England, meanwhile, are in the last group (L), alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama. Holders Argentina were handed a rather kind draw of Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Check out all the groups below!
The 2026 FIFA World Cup groupsSHAWN THEW / EPA / Profimedia
20:07 CET – Below you can see how the World Cup groups look after all the pots were drawn – ‘P/O’ stands for ‘Play-Off’, in reference to the European and FIFA Play-off Tournaments.
FIFA World Cup groups
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, P/O D winner (Republic of Ireland, Czechia, Denmark or North Macedonia)
Group B: Canada, P/O A winner (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia), Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, P/O C winner (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo)
Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, P/O B winner (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania), Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, P/O 2 winner (Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname), Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, P/O 1 winner (New Caledonia, Jamaica or DR Congo), Uzbekistan, Colombia
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
18:55 CET – Kicking things off, the host nations have been sorted, with Mexico in Group A, Canada in Group B, and the USA in Group D.
We will be back once Pot 1 is emptied, after first, legendary hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill performs, obviously!
18:46 CET – FIFA President Gianni Infantino is now getting the draw started. Let’s do this! As there are so many groups and teams, we will post the 12 groups with participants after each pot of 12 has been emptied.
18:30 CET – Next up, President Donald Trump is being awarded the so-called ‘FIFA Peace Prize’. It’s a little heavy-handed, but we wouldn’t expect any less… Bring on the draw!
FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the draw ceremonyANP / ddp USA / Profimedia
18:22 CET – Musical performance number two is Robbie Williams and Nicole Sherzinger performing the new World Cup anthem. It’s a throwback…
18:06 CET – The hosts of the occasion are on the floor: Former supermodel Heidi Klum and comedian Kevin Hart. It’s not quite the encore to Bocelli you dream of, but who cares? We are getting closer to the draw.
18:01 CET – Iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has gotten the festivities started, in spine-tingling fashion… Here we go. This is what it is all about: Epic sweeping narratives, the FIFA World Cup!
17:55 CET – The main hall at the Kennedy Center has filled up, and the ceremony is about to get started. It will begin with a musical performance, with the draw on the way.
The celebrities are out in force in Washington, along with all the major international managers and some legends of the game.
17:30 CET – We are just 30 minutes away from the start of the draw ceremony for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals!
We will have updates for you throughout the draw here, but if you need to go over the rules and restrictions one more time, take a look at this article.
The draw itself is not due to begin until 18:45 CET, with the ceremony set to kick off at the hour, and close before 20:00 CET. These are rough times.
17:05 CET – Flashscore’s Harry Dunnett, an England fan and football writer on our global news desk, has weighed in with his thoughts and concerns ahead of the draw and tournament:
“As an England fan heading into next year’s World Cup, I think the biggest fear is complacency…. You can be sure that the ‘smaller’ nations we could face in the group stages will give everything to cause an upset.
“It doesn’t matter to me if England draw a group of death with Morocco and Norway or nations like Haiti and Uzbekistan; they will have to beat stronger sides than any of those mentioned to win the World Cup, and lifting the trophy on July 19th has to be the aim.”
Harry Dunnett’s thoughts ahead of the drawOpta by StatsPerform (photo by Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra)
16:50 CET – Flashscore Netherlands’ writer and football expert Paul Winters has offered the following thoughts ahead of the draw from the perspective of a Dutch fan:
“Nothing fires you up quite like a World Cup. I know – I’ve seen Oranje reach the final in my lifetime! This is a tricky draw, however. The field has grown, but teams have gotten better, too.
“My only wishes are to avoid Norway like the plague, and to draw Dick Advocaat’s Curacao. No matter what, though: this is gonna be fun. Viva Hollandia!”
You do feel, a lot of fans want to avoid Erling Haaland‘s Norway, who are way down in Pot 3, and genuinely a dark horse.
Norway are the Pot 3 team to avoidFredrik Varfjell / NTB via Reuters
16:30 CET – I know what you’re thinking… How does the draw work? Which nations are in Pot 1? Are there any restrictions on the bracket? And, will there be a ‘Group of Death’?
All of those questions, and more, are answered in our extensive World Cup Draw Explainer article! So, don’t forget to read that before the main event at 18:00 CET.
While you’re at it, you can catch up on who’s already qualified for the World Cup here.
16:00 CET – We are only two hours away from the start of the FIFA World Cup draw in Washington!
As the excitement (and nerves) grow, it’s a good time to introduce the fact that Flashscore has reporters on the ground in the US capital, who have been following the buildup to the event and will provide comment throughout the day.
The snow is tumbling down in Washington, and we are all starting to wonder: Who is my team going to get in the World Cup group stage?
Not sure how the draw works? Just scroll down for all the key information!
People lining up to enter the Kennedy Center in Washington ahead of the drawFabio Russomando
15:00 CET – Today is the day we learn who will play who in the group stage of next year’s FIFA World Cup in North America, with the draw to be held at Washington’s Kennedy Center, from 18:00 CET. Here, we will provide live updates throughout the draw so you can find out your nation’s fate for the finals.
How does the draw work?
In short, of the 48 nations that will compete at the World Cup, 42 have been determined, with the final six to be identified in March via the playoffs.
The 42 confirmed nations plus six playoff berths have been organised into four seeding pots, largely based on the FIFA rankings. All six playoff winners are in Pot 4, regardless of which nations claim those berths.
Check out who’s qualified for the World Cup here.
The FIFA World Cup draw is taking place today in WashingtonANP / ddp USA / Profimedia
The teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with one participant from each pot drawn into each group. The draw will begin with all the teams from Pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It will then continue with Pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.
There are a few rules guiding the draw: No more than two European nations can be in each group, and no two non-European nations from the same confederations can be drawn together. In a new rule, the top two nations based on FIFA rankings (Spain and Argentina) will be placed on either side of the knockout pathway, as will the third and fourth-ranked sides (France and England).
Below are the pots for the draw:
Pot 1: USA, Canada, Mexico (hosts), Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
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, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, the four winners of the European Play-Offs, and the two winners of the FIFA Play-Off Tournament
Tune in from 18:00 CET to find out who is going to play who in football’s biggest event! Or, you can watch the draw live on FIFA.com or FIFA’s YouTube channel.