Pot by Pot: Full breakdown ahead of 2026 World Cup group draw on Friday

The draw for the first-ever 48-team FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday, ahead of the tournament scheduled for June 11 to July 19, 2026, in North America. Here is how the draw and tournament format will work:

Top Seeds Will Not Meet Early

Teams are divided into four pots of 12 teams based on their current FIFA rankings. Each of the 12 groups will contain one team from each pot.

For the first time, FIFA will conduct the draw in a way that ensures the four highest-ranked teams—Spain, Argentina, France and England—cannot face each other until the semi-finals, provided they finish top of their groups.

Confederation Rules

No group can have more than one team from the same continent, except Europe. Since Europe has 16 qualified teams, four groups will have two European teams.

Hosts Already Assigned

The three host nations already have their group positions:

USA will be in Group D, playing two matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

Mexico will be in Group A, playing two matches in Mexico City, including the opening match on June 11, and one in Guadalajara.

Canada will be in Group B, playing once in Toronto and twice in Vancouver.

More Matches and a New Knockout Round

Because the number of teams has increased from 32 to 48, the tournament will have more matches.

There will be 72 group-stage games.

Only 16 teams will be eliminated in the group phase.

After the groups, the competition moves into a Round of 32, before continuing to the Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

Teams by Seeding Pots

Pot 1: USA, Mexico, Canada, 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, 4 UEFA play-off winners, 2 intercontinental play-off winners

UEFA Play-Off Paths

Each path contains four teams; winners qualify:

Path A: Wales/Bosnia vs Italy/Northern Ireland

Path B: Ukraine/Sweden vs Poland/Albania

Path C: Slovakia/Kosovo vs Turkey/Romania

Path D: Czech Republic/Ireland vs Denmark/North Macedonia

Matches:

Semi-finals — March 26

Finals — March 31

Intercontinental Play-Offs

Winner from each path qualifies; games in Mexico:

New Caledonia or Jamaica vs DR Congo

Bolivia or Suriname vs Iraq

Semi-finals: March 26

Finals: March 31