FAQ
The groups for the 2026 World Cup will be drawn today. Easy and difficult draws are possible for the German team – the path to the title will definitely be harder than before.
When and where will the drawing take place?
The draw will take place this Friday in Washington DC and starts at 6 p.m. CET (live on ZDF). The drawing will be held at the Kennedy Center.
After an introduction of the participants, show elements and the presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize, the actual draw is scheduled to begin at around 6:50 p.m.
How is the draw carried out?
For the first time, 48 teams are playing in a World Cup; from 1998 to 2022 there have been 32 teams. There are four lottery pots from which one ticket is drawn into each of the twelve groups A to L. There are placeholders in the lottery drum for the winners of the playoffs, which will take place in March 2026:
- Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
- Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
- Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
- Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA Playoff A, UEFA Playoff B, UEFA Playoff C, UEFA Playoff D, FIFA Playoff 1, FIFA Playoff 2
The teams from pot 1 are drawn first, then pots 2, 3 and 4 one after the other. Group positions such as “A1” or “C3” are no longer drawn.
The German team is generally assigned one ticket from each of the three other lottery pots. But there are a lot of restrictions and special features:
- Only one team from a continental association is allowed to play in each of the twelve groups of four.
- An exception to the rule applies to the 16 UEFA teams, from which up to two teams are allowed to play in a group.
- The restrictions also apply to the two FIFA playoffs, which significantly limits the allocation of wildcards. FIFA Playoff 1 has teams from Oceania, North America and Africa. The FIFA Playoff 2 consists of teams from associations from South America, North America and Asia. An example: If Germany were to face South Africa as an opponent from Pot 3, FIFA Playoff 1 would no longer be possible because another African team, the Democratic Republic of Congo, plays there.
- The placeholders for the UEFA playoffs are logically treated as European teams. The difficult draws of Italy or Türkiye may also lie dormant for Germany in Pot 4 if these teams prevail in the playoffs.
- From a German perspective, a group with Uruguay, Ivory Coast and Italy would be conceivable – but a group with Morocco, Uzbekistan and Curacao would also be possible.
- The continental associations are not always logically divided geographically: Australia belongs to the Asian confederation and is therefore allowed to play against New Zealand from the Oceania confederation, but not against Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Suriname is located in South America, but in football terms it belongs to North America and is therefore not allowed to play against Canada, but is allowed to play against its neighboring country Brazil.
- What is already certain: Mexico will play the opening game as part of Group A in the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City against Norway, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or South Africa. It is also clear that Canada plays in Group B and the USA in Group D.
Who will play in the playoffs?
The following teams can still hope to qualify for the finals:
- UEFA playoff A: Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia/Herzegovina
- UEFA playoff B: Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania
- UEFA playoff C: Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo
- UEFA playoff D: Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic or Ireland
- FIFA Playoff 1: Democratic Republic of Congo, New Caledonia or Jamaica
- FIFA Playoff 2: Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname
What is important for the knockout round?
From the twelve groups, the twelve group winners, the twelve runners-up and the eight best third-placed teams reach the round of 16. There are 495 different constellations. For comparison: At the 2024 European Championship, in which the four best third-place teams advanced, there were 15 different combinations.
The top 4 in the world rankings are divided into four different quarters of the tournament tree in the knockout round – similar to tennis.
This means that Spain, Argentina, France and England can only meet in the semi-finals – provided they each win their group. This is a huge advantage for these teams. Spain and Argentina, the two best teams in the rankings, can only play against each other in the final; the same applies to France and England in third and fourth place.
Germany cannot initially meet Spain and Lamine Yamal.
For the German team, which is ninth in the rankings, this means that they have to beat up to three of these four teams in order to win the title, which national coach Julian Nagelsmann had announced as their goal.
In their quarter of the tournament tree, the German team would have a team from the top 4 as an opponent in the quarterfinals at the latest. Another top team in the semi-finals and a third in the final – provided the four top-seeded teams win their groups.
World Cup 2026
World Cup draws – a journey through time
When will the exact schedule come?
At the end of the draw, teams will only know their opponents. FIFA will only announce the game plan at another event in Washington DC on Saturday at 6 p.m. Only then will the teams find out the venues and kick-off times of their games. There could be unpleasant kick-off times for fans of the German team. There will probably be game dates that are after midnight – and that could also affect the German team.
The venues of the 2026 World Cup
FIFA promises at least: “Care will be taken to ensure the best possible conditions for all teams and spectators and to offer fans worldwide the opportunity to follow their teams’ games live across different time zones.” FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani from Canada recently said: “Will every game be absolutely perfect in terms of kick-off time and TV coverage? I don’t know.”
Fifa
The venues of the 2026 World Cup
In order to meet the European market, for example, games on the west coast of the American continent would have to be played in the afternoon. But this is not possible everywhere because of the heat in some venues. Some of the stadiums have lockable roofs, some are completely uncovered. The players’ union FIFPRO recently criticized the fact that four games at the Club World Cup should actually have been canceled. According to FIFPRO, there is an “extreme risk” of heat-related health consequences at six of the 16 World Cup venues. Not only the active players, but also the fans are at risk.