Washington. The draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 took place on Friday at the John F. The match took place at the Kennedy Centre, clearing the way for the first 48-team edition of football’s biggest tournament. A new group format and record number of matches will be played in this Mahakumbh to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
During the draw, plans for many exciting matches were revealed. After the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have become the new superstars of football. Their teams—France and Norway—are drawn opposite each other in Group I. African giant Senegal is also in this group. The winner of the European play-off (Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania) will make this group, which experts are already calling the “Group of Death”, even more difficult.
Morocco, who performed shockingly in the last World Cup, have been placed in Group C along with five-time champions Brazil. This has increased the pressure on Scotland and Haiti.
England and Croatia, both title favourites, will face each other in Group L. At the same time, this group can prove to be very challenging for Ghana and Panama.
If Italy qualifies from the European play-offs, it will join Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B—a group in which it is difficult to make a final guess on who will advance.
The opening match of the tournament will be played between Mexico and South Africa on host soil. South Korea are also in Group A, along with the winner of the European play-off between Denmark/North Macedonia/Czech Republic/Ireland.
The complete draw is as follows:
Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, European play-off winners D
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, European play-off winners A
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D: United States, Australia, Paraguay, European play-off winner C
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, European play-off winners B
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, FIFA play-off winners (Bolivia/Suriname/Iraq)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, FIFA play-off winners (New Caledonia/Jamaica/Democratic Republic of Congo)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
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