Preparations for the draw ceremony have been underway at the Kennedy Center for several weeks // Photo: kennedy-center.org
The draw will determine the composition of all 12 groups, which will be filled by 48 national teams. At the same time, the six remaining teams will be determined in March 2026, when the European playoffs (four spots) and the intercontinental knockout matches involving six teams from Asia, Africa, South, Central America and Oceania (two spots) will take place.
The national teams are divided into four baskets according to the number of participants in the groups at the Mundial (see table). The first basket includes the teams of the host countries of the tournament (USA, Mexico, Canada) and nine teams with the highest positions in the FIFA ranking. In particular, there are the Argentines, the reigning world champions, and the French, finalists of the last championship. The lowest-ranked teams in the world rankings, as well as the six participants to be determined in the spring, are in the fourth basket.
In the course of the draw, the teams from the first basket will be allocated first, then – from the rest. In one group is not allowed to represent more than one national team from the confederation. An exception applies only to European teams, as their number in the final tournament exceeds the number of groups (16 vs. 12).
U.S. and FIFA presidents Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino will host the draw, which will be attended by coaches and delegates of almost all the national teams that qualified for the Mundial and representatives of the teams that will compete for the remaining spots in the spring. Iran will not send its representatives to the draw ceremony, as the country’s specialized federation organized a boycott in protest against the decision of the U.S. authorities to deny visas to three high-ranking members of the delegation.
It is noteworthy that the U.S. side provided FIFA with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center), where the draw ceremony will be held, without the obligation to pay rent. At the same time, the cost of daily rental of the hall for ceremonies varies from $2.6 thousand for a choir rehearsal to $39 thousand for a concert. Because of the draw, some events were postponed, in particular, concerts of the US National Symphony Orchestra.
Earlier Logos Press reported that FIFA will allocate to the clubs, whose players will play at the Mundial as part of their national teams, compensation for a record amount – more than $355 million. Compared to the last World Cup, the level of support for soccer clubs will increase by 70%.
The upcoming World Cup will be held in three countries for the first time. The tournament matches will be held in 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
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Composition of the baskets of the World Cup-2026 draw |
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Basket No. 1 |
Basket No. 2 | |
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Host teams of the Mundial |
Canada |
Croatia |
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Mexico |
Morocco |
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| USA |
Colombia |
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Spain |
Uruguay |
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Argentina |
Switzerland |
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France |
Japan |
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England |
Senegal |
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Brazil |
Iran |
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Portugal |
South Korea |
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Netherlands |
Ecuador |
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Belgium |
Austria |
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Germany |
Australia |
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Basket No. 3 |
Basket No. 4 |
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Norway |
Jordan |
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Panama |
Cape Verde |
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Egypt |
Ghana |
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Algeria |
Curaçao |
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Scotland |
Haiti |
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Paraguay |
New Zealand |
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Tunisia |
The four winning teams from the European playoffs (March 2026) are |
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Côte d’Ivoire |
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Uzbekistan |
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Qatar |
Two winning teams from the intercontinental knockout rounds (March 2026) |
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Saudi Arabia |
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SOUTH AFRICA |
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