On Friday night, at a ceremony held at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was held, and attended by no less than the three heads of state of the host nations – the USA, Mexico and Canada. The 48-team competition – the World Cup’s first expansion since it became 32 teams in 1998 – will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Featuring 12 groups of four teams each, it will give a platform for some lesser-known nations, and also ensure that no fancied team misses out on the first knockout round featuring 32 nations.
Lionel Messi and Argentina, the defending champions, will face Austria, Algeria and Jordan. Algeria put African football on the map in 1982 by beating West Germany, while Austria topped their qualifying group.
The co-hosts were pre-assigned to Groups A (Mexico), B (Canada), and D (USA) respectively, and seeded alongside the top countries in FIFA’s world rankings. Interestingly, four of the pre-tournament favourites – Argentina, Spain, France and Brazil – will open their campaigns against African opponents.
France, winners in 2018 and finalists four years later, will start against Senegal, who beat them in their first World Cup appearance in 2002. Norway’s presence – after thumping Italy 7-1 across two matches – makes it one of the tougher groups to predict.
Of the co-hosts, the USA and Mexico have the toughest tasks, with the USA facing Australia, Paraguay and a UEFA playoff winner, most likely Turkey. Mexico take on South Korea, South Africa and another UEFA qualifier, potentially Czechia or Denmark.
Thomas Tuchel’s England, who didn’t concede a goal in qualifying, face Croatia, Ghana and Panama, while Spain are unlikely to have sleepless nights over a group that contains Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde and Uruguay.
The fixture list will be released later on December 6, and the coaching staff – whether that be the legendary Carlo Ancelotti for Brazil or the lesser-known names helming other teams – will go straight to the drawing board to fine-tune tactics, and engineer upsets.
The ceremony also saw Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, present Donald Trump, the president of the USA, with the FIFA Peace Prize. Rio Ferdinand, England and Manchester United legend, oversaw the draw, with Tom Brady (NFL), Shaquille O’Neal (basketball), Aaron Judge (baseball) and Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey) picking out the teams, and representing each of North America’s other major sports.
Full 2026 World Cup Groups (A–L)
Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, UEFA Playoff D winner (Denmark/North Macedonia/Czechia/ Republic of Ireland)
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, UEFA Playoff A winner (Italy/Northern Ireland /Wales /Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D: United States, Australia, Paraguay, UEFA Playoff C winner (Turkey/Romania/Slovakia / Kosovo)
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curaçao
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, UEFA Playoff B winner (Ukraine/Poland/Sweden /Albania)
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Inter-Confederation Playoff 2 winner (Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Inter-Confederation Playoff 1 winner (DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news
