Officially, the World Cup draw ceremony will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on December 5.
Draw Rules for the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams, which will be divided into 12 groups with 4 teams in each group.
Prior to the draw, the 48 teams will be split into four pots based on the latest FIFA rankings. Pot 1 will include the host nations (the United States, Canada, Mexico) and the 9 highest-ranked teams. The remaining three pots will also be allocated according to ranking positions. As a result, each group will contain one team from Pot 1, one from Pot 2, and so on.
Regarding match schedules, the opening match is scheduled for June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, meaning Mexico has automatically been placed in Group A. Canada and the United States will play their first matches on June 12, with Canada in Group B and the United States in Group D.
Notably, 6 of the 48 spots remain undecided at the time of the draw: 4 from the European zone and 2 from other regions of the world. These spots will be decided via play-offs in March 2026. For the draw, these spots will be represented by placeholders and placed in Pot 4.
