The draw for the 2026 World Cup takes place on Friday night at the John F. Kennedy Centre, where the 48 teams will finally learn their group-stage opponents. As ever, attention has turned to which combination of teams might create the tournament’s feared ‘group of death’ Pot, a group packed with more than two heavyweight sides, leaving little room for error.
A ‘group of death’ usually emerges when two top-tier nations are joined by strong mid-ranked sides, especially European teams coming through the Uefa play-offs.
Toughest and easiest teams in each Pot
FIFA has placed the Uefa play-off winners in Pot 4, meaning teams such as Italy (ranked 12), Denmark (21) and Turkey (25) will drop into the lowest Pot, a scenario that could make certain groups far more competitive.
Pot 1
Tough: Spain, Argentina, England, France
Easier: Brazil, Belgium, United States, Canada, Mexico
Pot 2
Tough: Croatia, Uruguay
Easier: Austria, Iran, Senegal
Pot 3
Tough: Norway, Egypt, Algeria
Easier: Qatar, Paraguay, Uzbekistan
Pot 4
Tough: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Poland (Uefa qualifiers), Ghana
Easier: Curaçao, Jordan, Haiti, intercontinental play-off winners
Possible group-of-death scenarios
Two groups could become exceptionally difficult if they draw Uefa play-off teams from Pot 4. Others could still develop into group-of-death scenarios even without them.
Only one team per confederation is permitted in each group, except Uefa, which can have two. With 16 European teams in the draw, at least two groups are expected to feature a pair of European sides.
Scenario 1: With a Uefa qualifier
Spain (1), Colombia (13), Egypt (34), Italy (12) (Uefa qualifier)
Scenario 2: With a Uefa qualifier
England (4), Uruguay (16), Ivory Coast (42), Uefa qualifier
Scenario 3: without a Uefa qualifier
Argentina (2), Croatia (10), Norway (29), Ivory Coast (42)
Scenario 4: Without a Uefa qualifier
France (3), Uruguay (16), Algeria (35), Saudi Arabia (60)
Teams in the draw
Hosts
Canada, Mexico, United States
AFC
Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
CAF
Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Concacaf
Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
Conmebol
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
OFC
New Zealand
Uefa
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
Six places remain unfilled. Four will be decided via the Uefa play-offs (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Poland, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales).
Two more will come from the FIFA play-offs featuring Bolivia, DR Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.
Pot allocations
Pot 1
Canada, Mexico, United States, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2
Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3
Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4
Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, Uefa play-off A, B, C, D, FIFA play-off 1 and 2
How the draw will work
The draw begins with Pot 1. Hosts Mexico, Canada and the United States have already been placed in Groups A, B and D. The remaining nine Pot 1 teams will be drawn into Groups C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and L.
Teams from Pots 2, 3 and 4 will then be allocated one by one. Pot 1 teams always occupy the first position in their group, while positions for other Pots are assigned at random.
To maintain confederation balance, each group can contain only one team from each region except Europe, which can have two. With four European groups guaranteed to contain two Uefa teams, several tough groups are inevitable.
FIFA also ensures that the top four ranked teams Pot Spain, Argentina, France and England Pot are kept on separate knockout pathways so they cannot meet before the semi-finals.
