live blog
Today the German national soccer team finds out who they have to play against in the preliminary round of the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The event starts at 6 p.m. German time in Washington DC Here you can find everything you need to know.
The draw can be seen here
ZDF will broadcast the event from the Kennedy Center live on linear television from 5:55 p.m. It starts a few minutes earlier Live stream.
The sports show provides information about developments in the US capital in this live blog.
The Kennedy Center in Washington DC
11 a.m.: Washington DC wakes up
It is six hours earlier than in Germany on the east coast of the USA, and therefore also in Washington DC. The draw therefore begins at 12 p.m. local time.
10.25 a.m.: This is how the draw works
The final round of the World Cup will be held for the first time with 48 teams. 42 of these have been confirmed, and six more teams will qualify via playoffs in spring 2026.
There will be twelve groups of four teams each. Three group heads are determined by the hosts USA, Mexico and Canada, the other nine come from Pot 1, which will also contain “Germany”, which qualified thanks to a splendid 6-0 win against Slovakia on the last matchday.
How exactly does the draw work? Which team is in which pot, which groups are possible, what is excluded? And what about the playoffs again? The details can be found in this detailed article.
10:10 a.m.: Trump’s appearance
The second-by-second schedule calls for Gianni Infantino – accompanied by soldiers – to come on stage with the new “FIFA Peace Prize” at 12:22:40. The newly created prize is supposed to be handed over for about 90 seconds, and it would be surprising if it didn’t end up in the hands of Donald J. Trump.
Infantino, the president of the world association, had already nominated the US President for the Nobel Peace Prize in vain. The two have met frequently in the past few months. FIFA, which is neutral according to the statutes, courts Trump whenever the opportunity arises.
Exactly two minutes are allotted for the award winner’s acceptance speech. Can Trump be so brief?
9.45 a.m.: Various stars at the draw
Lots of stars will be in Washington. As FIFA announced, sports icons Tom Brady (football), Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey), Shaquille O’Neal (basketball) and Aaron Judge (baseball) will take part on Friday John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as assistants. Long-time English national football player Rio Ferdinand will also act as draw manager.
FIFA previously announced that German supermodel Heidi Klum would host the draw alongside actors Kevin Hart and Danny Ramirez. Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and the Village People will also provide musical entertainment in Washington.