FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw Highlights: Argentina And Lionel Messi To Start Title Defence Against Algeria
2026 FIFA World Cup Draw Highlights: Forty-two of the teams have been determined and 22 are competing in playoffs for six berths that will be decided March 31
Pot 1 - Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9), United States (14, placed in Group D), Mexico (15, placed in Group A), Canada (27, placed in Group B).
Pot 2 - Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26).
Pot 3 - Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), Scotland (36), Paraguay (39), Tunisia (40), Ivory Coast (42), Uzbekistan (60), Qatar (51), Saudi Arabia (60), South Africa (61).
Pot 4 - Jordan (66), Cape Verde (68), Ghana (72), Curacao (82), Haiti (84), New Zealand (86), UEFA Playoff A, UEFA Playoff B, UEFA Playoff C, UEFA Playoff D, FIFA Playoff 1, FIFA Playoff 2.
Well, American comedian and actor Kevin Hart, and model Heidi Klum are the hosts for the big event that is underway in Washington, DC.
Currently, English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams and American singer-songwriter and dancer Nicole Scherzinger are performing on the stage.
The top four teams in the FIFA ranking — Spain, Argentina, France and England — will be drawn in such a way that, should they win their groups, they would not face each other before the semifinals.
Other constraints during the draw include:
— Each group must have at least one European team, but no more than two.
— Aside from UEFA (Europe), no two teams from the same confederation can be in the same group. The other confederations are the AFC (Asia) and CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America) and the OFC (Oceania).
Balls corresponding with the competing countries will be separated into four pots of 12, and each group will include one team drawn from each pot.
42 of the 48 slots have already been filled. Six of the balls in pot 4 do not correspond with any specific country. That's because six spots at the World Cup won't be determined until March. Four European teams will qualify via the UEFA playoffs, and the additional two FIFA playoffs will include teams from all over the world.
There are few recent parallels to the fervor that's about to descend on the Kennedy Center. When the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994, the draw was held in Las Vegas and Bill Clinton, the president at the time, didn't attend.
This week's lineup is a reminder that for Donald Trump - a two-term president, bestselling author and onetime reality television star - his favorite role is that of a showman. And Trump's transformation of the Kennedy Center from one of Washington's relatively apolitical spaces into something of an extension of his White House affords him a natural stage.
The US president was instrumental in working with FIFA President Gianni Infantino to move the draw to the Kennedy Center after it was widely expected to take place in Las Vegas.
