Unlike previous editions, FIFA has made a significant change for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by increasing the number of national teams from 32 to 48. Consequently, the tournament will now feature 12 groups instead of the 8 groups seen in recent editions. With only a few months remaining before the tournament kicks off, the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final Draw will occur today, establishing the final groups under this new format.
To ensure balanced competition in the groups for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA decided to organize the final draw by dividing national teams into four pots, ranging from the most competitive to the less competitive. Pot 1 includes the three hosts—United States, Mexico, and Canada—along with the nine highest-ranked teams: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Pot 2 includes: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia. Then, joining Pot 3 are Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. Finally, Pot 4 is completed by Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, the four UEFA playoff winners, and the two inter-confederation playoff winners.
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA is seeking to ensure that no teams from the same confederation are placed in the same group, with the exception of UEFA, which may have up to two teams in the same group due to having 16 national teams. With this in mind, we will be following live coverage of the final draw, which will determine the final groups of the anticipated tournament.
