The 2026 World Cup will be the first of its kind to expand beyond the traditional 32 teams and welcome 48 nations to the tournament field.
With most participating countries now known, the draw will determine the layout of the group stage and the possible path to the final for each side.
As qualifying concludes and all eyes turn to the final tournament in June and July, fans can get a look at who will be participating and how they will slot into the larger bracket.
The Sporting News brings you an overview of the confirmed teams in the draw, where they will be placed, and who they could find themselves matched up against.
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When is the World Cup draw 2026?
The FIFA World Cup draw for the 2026 tournament is being conducted on December 5, 2025 at noon ET.
It will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
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Which teams are in the World Cup draw 2026?
There are 42 confirmed teams in the group stage. The remaining six places will be filled by the winners of the inter-confederation and UEFA playoff tournaments, which are held in March 2026.
Those playoff “pathway” winners will be assigned to a group at the draw, so the teams entering the playoffs will know their potential group before those tournaments are held.
Teams in the World Cup 2026 draw
| Nation | Confederation | Last World Cup appearance |
| United States (host) | CONCACAF | 2022 |
| Mexico (host) | CONCACAF | 2022 |
| Canada (host) | CONCACAF | 2022 |
| Panama | CONCACAF | 2018 |
| Haiti | CONCACAF | 1974 |
| Curacao | CONCACAF | None (First appearance) |
| Japan | AFC | 2022 |
| Iran | AFC | 2022 |
| Uzbekistan | AFC | None (First appearance) |
| Australia | AFC | 2022 |
| South Korea | AFC | 2022 |
| Jordan | AFC | None (First appearance) |
| Saudi Arabia | AFC | 2022 |
| Qatar | AFC | 2022 |
| Morocco | CAF | 2022 |
| Tunisia | CAF | 2022 |
| Egypt | CAF | 2018 |
| Algeria | CAF | 2014 |
| Ghana | CAF | 2022 |
| Cape Verde | CAF | None (First appearance) |
| South Africa | CAF | 2010 |
| Senegal | CAF | 2022 |
| Ivory Coast | CAF | 2014 |
| Argentina | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Ecuador | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Brazil | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Colombia | CONMEBOL | 2018 |
| Uruguay | CONMEBOL | 2022 |
| Paraguay | CONMEBOL | 2010 |
| New Zealand | OFC | 2010 |
| England | UEFA | 2022 |
| France | UEFA | 2022 |
| Croatia | UEFA | 2022 |
| Portugal | UEFA | 2022 |
| Norway | UEFA | 1998 |
| Germany | UEFA | 2022 |
| Netherlands | UEFA | 2022 |
| Spain | UEFA | 2022 |
| Belgium | UEFA | 2022 |
| Switzerland | UEFA | 2022 |
| Austria | UEFA | 1998 |
| Scotland | UEFA | 1998 |
| Italy/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina/N. Ireland | UEFA Playoff Path A | |
| Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania | UEFA Playoff Path B | |
| Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo | UEFA Playoff Path C | |
| Denmark/N. Macedonia/Czechia/Rep. of Ireland | UEFA Playoff Path D | |
| D.R. Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia | Intercontinental Playoff Path A | |
| Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname | Intercontinental Playoff Path B |
World Cup pots 2026
The pots are used to determine which teams end up in which groups. One team from each pot is assigned to each group.
FIFA also clarified that a “tennis-style” seeding will be in operation at the tournament. This means that the highest-ranked teams (Spain and Argentina) will be placed automatically into opposite sides of the draw, so that they cannot face one another unless they both reach the final. The same is true for the the nations ranked third and fourth (France and England).
It also means that teams in pots 2, 3 and 4 will have their group positions pre-determined by “a predefined allocation pattern”. FIFA also stated: “In principle, no group will have more than one team from the same confederation drawn into it. This applies to all confederations except UEFA, which is represented by 16 teams. Each group must have at least one, but no more than two UEFA teams drawn into it.”
Pot 1
| Nation | Confederation | FIFA Rank |
| USA | CONCACAF | 14 |
| Mexico | CONCACAF | 15 |
| Canada | CONCACAF | 26 |
| Spain | UEFA | 1 |
| Argentina | CONMEBOL | 2 |
| France | UEFA | 3 |
| England | UEFA | 4 |
| Brazil | CONMEBOL | 5 |
| Portugal | UEFA | 6 |
| Netherlands | UEFA | 7 |
| Belgium | UEFA | 8 |
| Germany | UEFA | 9 |
Pot 2
| Nation | Confederation | FIFA Rank |
| Croatia | UEFA | 10 |
| Morocco | CAF | 11 |
| Colombia | CONMEBOL | 13 |
| Uruguay | CONMEBOL | 16 |
| Switzerland | UEFA | 17 |
| Japan | AFC | 18 |
| Senegal | CAF | 19 |
| Iran | AFC | 20 |
| South Korea | AFC | 22 |
| Ecuador | CONMEBOL | 23 |
| Austria | UEFA | 24 |
| Australia | AFC | 26 |
Pot 3
| Nation | Confederation | FIFA Rank |
| Norway | UEFA | 29 |
| Panama | CONCACAF | 30 |
| Egypt | CAF | 34 |
| Algeria | CAF | 35 |
| Scotland | UEFA | 36 |
| Paraguay | CONMEBOL | 39 |
| Tunisia | CAF | 40 |
| Ivory Coast | CAF | 42 |
| Uzbekistan | AFC | 50 |
| Qatar | AFC | 51 |
| Saudi Arabia | AFC | 60 |
| South Africa | AFC | 61 |
Pot 4
| Nation | Confederation | FIFA Rank |
| Jordan | AFC | 66 |
| Cape Verde | CAF | 68 |
| Ghana | AFC | 72 |
| Curacao | CONCACAF | 82 |
| Haiti | CONCACAAF | 84 |
| New Zealand | OFC | 86 |
| Italy/N. Ireland/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina | UEFA | |
| Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania | UEFA | |
| Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo | UEFA | |
| Denmark/N. Macedonia/Czechia/Rep. of Ireland | UEFA | |
| DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia | ||
| Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname |
Who can still qualify for World Cup 2026?
There are 22 teams who are still in the mix for World Cup qualification, battling for six spots.
Sixteen European nations are bidding to claim one of four places in the group stage at next March’s UEFA playoffs. The four eventual winners will presumably be placed in Pot 4, although FIFA has not confirmed this.
Additionally, six teams have progressed to the intercontinental playoffs, all from various confederations. This will produce two more World Cup finalists, both of whom will be entered into Pot 4.
How does the World Cup 2026 draw work?
For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a random draw will be conducted to determine the 12 groups, each consisting of four teams.
The 48 teams will be split into four pots, with each group consisting of one team from each pot.
You can find a full breakdown of how the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will work here.
