FIFA has announced the draw procedure and seeding list for the 2026 World Cup. Teams that qualify through UEFA play-offs and intercontinental play-offs will be placed in Pot 4 if they secure a spot.
Seeding Rules
Host nations Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically enter Pot 1; the remaining 39 qualified teams are divided into four pots (12 teams per pot) based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking released on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. All play-off qualifying spots are assigned to Pot 4.
Detailed Seeding
| Pot | Teams |
|---|---|
| 1 | Canada, Mexico, United States, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany |
| 2 | Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia |
| 3 | Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa |
| 4 | Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, Winner of UEFA Play-off Group A, Winner of UEFA Play-off Group B, Winner of UEFA Play-off Group C, Winner of UEFA Play-off Group D, Winner of Play-off 1, Winner of Play-off 2 |
Draw Process
The draw ceremony will start with all teams from Pot 1, which will be drawn into Groups A to L in sequence. Subsequently, teams from Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4 will be drawn in order.
Among Pot 1 teams, hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States will be distinguished by draw balls of different colors. In accordance with the predefined match schedule announced on February 4, 2024, after the draw results are confirmed, Mexico (green ball) will be assigned to position A1, Canada (red ball) to position B1, and the United States (blue ball) to position D1. The other 9 highest-ranked teams in Pot 1 will use 9 balls of the same color and automatically occupy the No. 1 position in their respective groups after the draw.
To ensure competitive balance, two independent semi-final qualification paths have been designed for the tournament schedule. For balanced distribution, the top 4 teams in the FIFA Men's World Ranking will follow the following rule restrictions during the draw: the team ranked 1st (Spain) and the team ranked 2nd (Argentina) will be randomly assigned to different qualification paths, and the same principle applies to the teams ranked 3rd (France) and 4th (England). This arrangement will ensure that if all four teams win their respective groups, the top two ranked teams will not meet before the final.
The group positions of teams in Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4 will be determined based on a set of predefined allocation rules, which are detailed in the table attached to the group draw rules document. The specific group position of each team is jointly determined by its pot and the group it is drawn into.
In principle, no more than one team from the same confederation shall be drawn into a single group. This rule applies to all confederations except UEFA—with 16 UEFA teams participating in this tournament, each group must include at least one UEFA team and no more than two.
For the two pending FIFA play-off spots, to comply with FIFA’s general principle of "no more than one team from the same confederation in a group," the three teams in each qualification path of the two FIFA play-offs in Pot 4 must adhere to the aforementioned confederation grouping restrictions.
Relevant Information
The group stage draw ceremony for the final tournament will be held at the renowned John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on December 5 (local time). Coaches and officials from all qualified teams and those still competing for qualification will gather to reveal their opponents on the road to the ultimate glory.
Each participating team will learn about their qualification path to compete for the championship trophy in New York/New Jersey on July 19, 2026. The updated tournament schedule (including venue assignments and corresponding kick-off times for each match) will be announced on December 6 (local time).
