The draw for FIFA’s 2026 World Cup took place in snowy Washington D.C. on a historic day for soccer in North America.
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The three host nations Canada, Mexico and the United States are delighted with their draw. There are multiple “Group of Death” scenarios set up. Some of the favorites got a favorable draw.
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And the path to glory has now been set.
Relive the 2026 World Cup draw below, with analysis, reaction and much more.
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2026 World Cup draw live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright
Pot 4 is drawn! We are done!
Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, UEFA playoff D winner (Denmark, Czechia, Republic of Ireland, North Macedonia)
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, UEFA playoff A winner (Italy, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland)
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, UEFA playoff C winner (Turkike, Slovakia, Kosovo, Romania)
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, UEFA playoff B winner (Ukraine, Poland, Albania, Sweden)
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Inter-confederation playoff 2 (Iraq, Bolivia, Suriname)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Inter-confederation playoff 1 (DR Congo, Jamaica, New Caledonia)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
Pot 3 is drawn!
Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria
Group K: Portugal. Colombia, Uzbekistan
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama
Pot 2 is drawn!
Group A: Mexico, South Korea
Group B: Canada, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco
Group D: USA, Australia
Group E: Germany, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan
Group G: Belgium, Iran
Group H: Spain, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal
Group J: Argentina, Austria
Group K: Portugal. Colombia
Group L: England, Croatia
Pot 1 is drawn!
Group A: Mexico
Group B: Canada
Group C: Brazil
Group D: USA
Group E: Germany
Group F: Netherlands
Group G: Belgium
Group H: Spain
Group I: France
Group J: Argentina
Group K: Portugal
Group L: England
Gretzky, Brady Shaq, Judge... wow!
The stars are out for the Pot 1 draw and there is some friendly banter going on.
Rio Ferdinand makes an appearance now
There are plenty of stars being rolled out before the Pot 1 teams are drawn out, with Rio Ferdinand leading a segment now.
USA, Canada and Mexico all drawn into their groups
We knew they would be in their respective pots, but the leaders of all three countries are here and drawn them out. Mexico are in Group A, Canada in Group B and the USA in Group D. Okay, so more music, and we are about to draw out the other teams from Pot 1 very shortly...
Donald Trump awarded FIFA Peace Prize
The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is on stage and has been awarded the FIFA Peace Prize.
Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger now on stage
The duo are on stage singing and we are going through plenty of chat and video compilations as we prepare for the draw.
Andrea Bocelli kicks things off
What a start to the ceremony! The legendary singer Andrea Bocelli belts out Nessun Dorma and the crowd is loving it. Now Gianni Infantino is on stage saying a few words and kicking things off: “This will be the greatest FIFA World Cup ever. The greatest event humanity will ever see.”
Goosebumps. @AndreaBocelli | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/pb653U5gDC
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 5, 2025
Reminder of the Pots teams are in
As we approach the draw kicking off, here’s a timely reminder of which teams are in each pot.
And remember: a team will be drawn from each of Pot 1, Pot 2, 3 and 4 into a group with the position of the hosts USA, Mexico and Canada already determined as they are in Group D, A and B respectively. The main rule: no team from the same region can be drawn in the same group EXCEPT for UEFA (Europe), where a maximum of two teams from Europe can be drawn in the same group.
Pot 1 - 12 teams total
Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, USA (hosts), Mexico (hosts), Canada (hosts)
Pot 2 - 12 teams total
Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3 - 12 teams total
Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4 - 12 teams total
Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand + 4 playoff winners from UEFA + 2 playoff winners from inter-confederation
Welcome to the 2026 World Cup draw!
Hello and welcome to our live blog of the 2026 World Cup draw, which is taking place in Washington D.C. as the snow falls in the streets around the capital of the United States of America.
The biggest-ever tournament in World Cup history will see 48 teams squaring off across North America next summer with 104 games across Canada, Mexico and the USA. And now we will finally find out who will play who in the group stage, with the full schedule to be released tomorrow. Let’s get to it!
How to watch the 2026 World Cup draw, stream live
Event time: 12 pm ET
Watchalong: NBC Sports’ YouTube
TV channel: Telemundo (en Espanol)
Streaming: Peacock (en Espanol)
Venue: Kennedy Center — Washington, D.C.
