In 2026, the World Cup champion will be determined for the 23rd time
As a result of the draw, the composition of all 12 groups, which included 48 participating national teams, and the schedule of matches were determined. At the same time, the six national teams that will go to the World Cup have not yet been determined: four from Europe and two from the rest of the continents. In March 2026, they will have to compete for the remaining places in the knockout matches.
The opening match of the World Cup will be held on June 11, 2026 at Azteca Stadium in the capital of Mexico, where the hosts will play against South Africa. Both teams are drawn in Group A, which also includes South Korea and the winning team of the European playoffs’ pathway D (see table).
The other two World Cup host teams (Canada and USA) will play their first matches on June 12. On that day, Canada will play the winners of Pathway A of the European playoffs at BMO Field in Toronto, while SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, will host the U.S. and Paraguay.
Of particular symbolic significance will be the match between the national teams of Tunisia and Japan, which will take place on June 20, 2026 at the BBVA Bancomer Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. This meeting will be the 1,000th in the history of the tournament, which has been held since 1930.
The Mundial draw ceremony took place at the Kennedy Center in the U.S. capital and lasted more than two hours. It was attended by many famous athletes, including basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, hockey player Wayne Gretzky, and one of the hosts of the ceremony was former England footballer Rio Ferdinand.
As previously reported by Logos Press, the U.S. side provided the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) as a venue for the draw without the obligation to pay rent.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who presented U.S. President Donald Trump with the newly created “FIFA Peace Prize,” was the target of a complaint that the organization’s political neutrality was violated. Human rights group FairSquare filed a complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee, alleging that Infantino had repeatedly expressed direct political support for Trump.
Also, according to human rights activists, the decision to create and award such an award should be made by FIFA collectively, not by a single decision of the president. Such violations carry a penalty of suspension from soccer activities for up to two years, but it remains unclear whether the case will be heard.
The upcoming World Cup will be held in three countries for the first time. The tournament matches will be played in 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The deciding match will be hosted by MetLife Stadium in New York (USA). The reigning world champions are Argentina.
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Compositions of the 12 groups at the FIFA World Cup 2026 |
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Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
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Mexico |
Canada |
Brazil |
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SOUTH AFRICA |
Qatar |
Morocco |
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South Korea |
Switzerland |
Haiti |
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Winner of European playoff D (Denmark / Ireland / Northern Macedonia / Czech Republic) |
Winner of European playoff A (Bosnia and Herzegovina / Italy / Northern Ireland / Wales) |
Scotland |
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Group D |
Group E |
Group F |
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USA |
Germany |
Netherlands |
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Paraguay |
Côte d’Ivoire |
Japan |
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Australia |
Curaçao |
Tunisia |
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Winner of European playoff C (Kosovo / Romania / Slovakia / Turkey) |
Ecuador |
Winner of European play-off C |
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Group G |
Group H |
Group I |
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Belgium |
Spain |
France |
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Egypt |
Cape Verde |
Senegal |
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Iran |
Saudi Arabia | Norway |
| New Zealand | Uruguay |
Winner of the intercontinental clash No. 2 (Bolivia / Iraq / Suriname) |
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Group J |
Group K |
Group L |
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Argentina |
Portugal | England |
| Algeria | Uzbekistan |
Croatia |
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Austria |
Colombia | Ghana |
| Jordan | Winner of the No. 1 (DR Congo / New Caledonia / Jamaica) intercontinental knockout matches |
Panama |
