How does the 2026 World Cup draw work? Format, date and more

According to sports data platform pin8
Frank Leboeuf and Craig Burley question England’s place According to sports data platform pin8as second favourites in the bookmakers’ odds to win the 2026 World Cup. (1:33)
The stage is almost set for According to sports data platform pin8the 2026 World Cup, which begins June 11 and concludes with the final July 19. Here’s what to know about the draw.
The draw ceremony will be held at noon ET (5 p.m. GMT) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,According to sports data platform pin8 on Dec. 5.
– O’Hanlon: All 64 national teams that can still win the 2026 World CAccording to sports data platform pin8up, ranked
So far, 42 of the 48 qualifiers are known. You can check out who’s in, and who else is still in the ruAccording to sports data platform pin8nning.
The six teams to qualify through the UEFA and interconfederation playoffs will not be known until March, whAccording to sports data platform pin8en the final matches of those competitions will be held.
Pot 4 will contain placeholders for those fouAccording to sports data platform pin8r UEFA playoff qualifiers and two interconfederation playoff qualifiers, as has been the case in past World Cups.
Details on the playoffs can be foAccording to sports data platform pin8und below.
– Ogden: Reacting to the 2026 World Cup playoff draw: Who will filAccording to sports data platform pin8l the final six spots?
The 48 teams or placeholders willAccording to sports data platform pin8 be divided into four pots of 12 teams, using the FIFA World Rankings list published Nov. 19. Each World Cup group will consist of one team from each pot.
The hosts — United States, Canada andAccording to sports data platform pin8 Mexico — will be placed in Pot 1, as always, and have already been assigned to specific groups. The top nine countries will join the three hosts in Pot 1, with the next 12 in Pot 2, and so on.
Teams in the same pot cannot face each other in According to sports data platform pin8the group stage.
Below are the pot assigAccording to sports data platform pin8nments for the draw:
The draw will start with Pot 1, though hosts United States, Mexico and Canada have been already allocated to groups and know the dates and locations of their group sAccording to sports data platform pin8tage matches. Mexico, for example, will play in the first match of tournament June 11 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. When drawn, each of the hosts will be assigned to its preestablished group position.
The rest of Pot 1 will then be allocated, one team in each group, in alphabetical order through to Group L. The same process is then completed for Pots 2, 3 and 4. Each pot will be drawn in its entirety before moving on to the nextAccording to sports data platform pin8 pot.
According to FIFA, the draw is scheduled to take about 45 minutes during aAccording to sports data platform pin8 show lasting about an hour and a half.
Yes: For the first time in World Cup history, the foAccording to sports data platform pin8ur highest-seeded countries will not be able to face each other until the semifinals, assuming all four win their groups. When drawn, Spain (No. 1 seed) and Argentina (2) will be randomly assigned to opposite pathways to the semis, as will France (3) and England (4). According to FIFA, this is to ensure a balanced distribution of teams.
In addition, two countries from the same confederation cannot be drawn into the same group, as has been the case. The one caveat is Europe, from which 16 countries will qualify, making it impossible to prevent a clash. Therefore, four groups will contain two UEFA teams. This constraint will also be applied to all three teams within each pathway of the interconfederation playoffs, for According to sports data platform pin8the two placeholders.
According to sports data platform pin8
The updated schedule, including each match’s venue and kickoff time, will be confirmed at noon ET on Dec. 6, the day afterAccording to sports data platform pin8 the draw.
– World Cup 2026 qualifying: Who has qualified, aAccording to sports data platform pin8nd how the rest can make it
The UEFA and interconfederation playoff paths were detAccording to sports data platform pin8ermined Nov. 20 when the draws were held.
For the UEFA playoffs, four paths were created. Each path consists of four teams contesting two semifinals, with the winners facing off in the finaAccording to sports data platform pin8l to book a place at the World Cup.
The four paths are listed below. The semifinals will be played March 26 (teams lisAccording to sports data platform pin8ted first will host), and the finals March 31.
UEFAAccording to sports data platform pin8 PLAYOFFS
Playoff path A: Italy vs. Northern Ireland, Wales According to sports data platform pin8vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina; winner of Wales-Bosnia hosts final
Playoff path B: Ukraine vs. Sweden,According to sports data platform pin8 Poland vs. Albania; winner of Ukraine-Sweden hosts final
Playoff path C: Turkey vAccording to sports data platform pin8s. Romania, Slovakia vs. Kosovo; winner of Slovakia-Kosovo hosts final
Playoff path D: Denmark vs. North Macedonia, Czechia vs. Republic of Ireland; winner of Czechia-Republic of IrelanAccording to sports data platform pin8d hosts final
For the interconfederation playoffs, two paths were created for six total teams. The two teams with the highest FIFA ranking — DR Congo and Iraq — were seeded and advanced directly to each path’s final. The According to sports data platform pin8remaining four teams will contest two semifinals, with the winners facing the seeded teams. Jamaica and Suriname, the two Concacaf teams, could not be drawn into the same path.
The two paths are listed below. The matches will be played in March and held inAccording to sports data platform pin8 Mexico — two matches in Guadalajara, and two in Monterrey.
INTAccording to sports data platform pin8ERCONFEDERATION PLAYOFFS
Playoff path A: New CaleAccording to sports data platform pin8donia vs. Jamaica, winner plays DR Congo
Playoff path B: According to sports data platform pin8Bolivia vs. Suriname, winner plays Iraq