November’s international period has allowed more nations progression to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as anticipation rises ahead of the expanded tournament.
The majority of the 48 teams competing for world champion status in North America have booked their (very expensive) tickets, with December’s draw shaping the group stage for next summer’s competition.
However, there remain questions unanswered ahead of next month’s draw, with the process not entirely straightforward.
Here’s a full breakdown of the 2026 World Cup group stage draw.
How Does the World Cup Group Stage Draw Work?
The World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC on Friday, Dec. 5 at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT, 5 p.m. GMT).
There will be six unknown nations during the draw, with the four winners of the UEFA playoffs and two winners of the inter-confederation play-offs only confirmed in March 2026.
The remaining 42 countries, with six placeholders, will be divided into four pots of 12. Each group at the tournament will be made up of one nation from Pot 1, 2, 3 and 4. While the draw is completely random, no two teams from the same confederation can be drawn against one another—except for UEFA, where there are more teams than groups. No more than two UEFA countries can feature in a single group.
The three host nations have already been placed in groups. Mexico are in Group A, Canada in Group B and the United States in Group D.
World Cup Group Stage Pots: Full Breakdown
The three host nations have all been placed in Pot 1 for the tournament irrespective of their status in international football. The other nine countries in Pot 1 will be the qualified nations with the highest overall FIFA world ranking.
The remaining pots will be based on FIFA rankings, with Pot 2 having the highest-ranked countries outside of Pot 1 and Pot 4 the lowest-ranked qualifiers.
However, FIFA are yet to decide on whether or not to include all six playoff nations in Pot 4, or use them as placeholders in pots based off their world ranking.
For example, Italy, who were condemned to a second-placed finish behind Norway, could be directly placed in Pot 4 despite being the ninth-highest ranked FIFA nation, or they could be placed in Pot 1 based off their ranking alone.
If playoff teams are automatically placed in Pot 4, it could result in some very challenging groups at the World Cup. It would mean that the likes of Argentina, France and England could be drawn against Italy in the group stage.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2026 World Cup Group Stage Draw Pots: How Seeding Works.
