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World Cup 2026 draw: Every group confirmed for the tournament

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The World Cup 2026 draw sees a record 48 teams drawn into 12 groups

World Cup 2026 draw: The FIFA World Cup Trophy is seen on stage at the Kennedy Center ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw on December 03, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The World Cup trophy on stage at the Kennedy Center (Image credit: Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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The World Cup 2026 draw sees 48 teams drawn into 12 groups of four, as the schedule for the tournament in North America next summer begins to take shape.

Initially, FIFA planned for World Cup 2026 to have groups of three, but this was abandoned in favour of the traditional four-team format: it just means that eight third-placed sides will progress into a Round of 32, along with the top two in each group.

With thoughts turning to the tournament squads, too, the countdown to the competition begins here – and FourFourTwo is here to bring you the best of the greatest show on Earth in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

There are only 42 nations who have qualified for the tournament so far: that's the three hosts, along with three other CONCACAF nations, eight AFC, nine CAF, six CONMEBOL, one OFC country and eight from UEFA.

Six places are left at the tournament, with 16 European teams still in the hunt for a place: they'll battle it out in March in the play-offs, with just four of them guaranteed a place at the competition.

Just two other spots are up for grabs via the intercontinental play-offs: one of New Caledonia, Jamaica or DR Congo will book their place, alongside one of Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname.

Each of the teams still to qualify automatically go into Pot 4, regardless.

The Pots

World Cup 2026 draw pots

The official balls for the draw are seen on stage at the Kennedy Center ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw on December 03, 2025 in Washington, DC.

The official balls for the draw (Image credit: Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

*Brackets indicate FIFA World Ranking as of November 2025

The confirmed group stage

Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England, pose on the red carpet prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Thomas Tuchel poses on the red carpet prior to the draw (Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Group I

Group J

Group K

Group L

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.

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