FIFA will hold the draw for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada this Friday in Washington, D.C. The event will feature 48 national teams, more than ever before, and will use 4 pots. A special guest will be U.S. President Donald Trump. The draw will begin at 12:00 local time at The Kennedy Center, a national cultural center in the U.S., which Trump has provided to FIFA for the event. The 48 participating teams will be divided into 12 groups of 4 countries each, drawn from 4 pots. Pot 1 contains the three host nations—the USA, Mexico, and Canada—along with the top teams in the FIFA rankings and top favorites: Argentina, Spain, England, France, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Pot 2 is shared by Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia, and Senegal. Pot 3 consists of Norway, Panama, Qatar, Egypt, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Algeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan. Pot 4 is composed of Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, and New Zealand, plus six other teams to be determined in the two March playoffs—the European and intercontinental—with Italy, Sweden, or Denmark among those hoping to qualify. For the first time in tournament history, a round of 16 will be introduced, bringing the total number of matches to 104, 40 more than in Qatar in 2022. Mexico, Canada, and the USA will be identified with colored balls and assigned as seeded teams to groups A, B, and D, respectively, to ensure they play their group stage matches on home soil. Mexico will play two matches in Mexico City (including the opener) and one in Guadalajara; Canada will play its first in Toronto and the other two in Vancouver; while the USA will begin and end the group in Los Angeles, traveling to Seattle for the second match. Spain and Argentina, the top two teams in the FIFA rankings, will be placed in opposite halves of the bracket to ensure they can only meet in a potential final. The same criterion will apply to France and England, ranked third and fourth, respectively. The draw will also prevent teams from the same confederation—with the exception of UEFA, with 16 qualified teams—from being placed in the same group. While the draw on Friday will determine the group stage matchups, the final tournament schedule, including stadium and time details, will be announced on Saturday. FIFA has chosen former England captain Rio Ferdinand as the master of ceremonies. On stage will be legends of the four major American sports: Tom Brady (American football), Shaquille O'Neal (basketball), Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey), and Aaron Judge (baseball). In parallel, there will be a show featuring artists Andrea Bocelli, Village People, Robbie Williams, and Nicole Scherzinger, hosted by model Heidi Klum, comedian Kevin Hart, and actor Danny Ramirez. The draw will also be attended by the three host leaders: Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum, Canada's Mark Carney, and Trump, although the focus will be on the close relationship between the American and FIFA President, Gianni Infantino. Infantino will use the event and the stage to present the FIFA Peace Award, an honor that the world expects to go to Trump. In fact, the FIFA President announced the creation of the award after Trump was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, to great disappointment from the leader. "It will be the biggest, safest, and most extraordinary football tournament in history," Trump stated, who is heavily involved in the event's organization and who already presented the trophy to Chelsea at the FIFA Club World Cup alongside Infantino.
