On Friday, the German national team will find out who they have to play against in the group phase of the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The “tingling sensation in the body” is there, admitted national coach Julian Nagelsmann before the draw in the US capital Washington DC. For the first time there will be twelve preliminary round groups with 48 teams, which will be determined from 6 p.m. German time. We’ll keep you up to date in the live ticker.
6:30 p.m
Addition: The praise video for this could hardly have been more political.
6:29 p.m
Trump will now actually be honored with the new FIFA Peace Prize. Is it an act of friendship by Infantino or a political message? We don’t want to comment too much on it, but none of this feels good.
6:26 p.m
It’s straight down to business, away from football. Now it’s about the controversial new FIFA Peace Prize. Those who have made outstanding achievements in certain criteria that, to be honest, are difficult for us to grasp should be honored. We are stumped.
6:22 p.m
There is singing again, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger perform the new World Cup anthem “Desire” together.
6:18 p.m
Showman Infantino is currently calling on the Americans, Canadians and Mexicans to cheer on their country in the hall. One can only hope that the atmosphere in the stadiums will be better than the thin audience voices at this bizarre start to the evening.
6:15 p.m
48 teams, 104 games at this World Cup. Infantino talks (again) about how it’s like 104 Super Bowls in a month. For the association boss, this is obviously a desirable situation. This may be overwhelming for others.
6:12 p.m
FIFA President Gianni Infantino took the stage. Klum presented him as the world’s number one football fan.
6:11 p.m
While there is now a lot of fanfare in Washington, let’s take a look at the stars who should definitely be at the World Cup – and those for whom it wasn’t enough. Thanks to the successful qualifications of Spain, Norway, England and France, we can look forward to the four most valuable footballers in the world at the moment; Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé. You can find the top 250 participants by market value here. But there will also be some big footballers missing, for example because Nigeria, Hungary or Georgia were unable to qualify; among the most valuable professionals to miss the World Cup.
6:08 p.m
Speaking of Trump: Let’s see whether the US President will only be a guest or will also take an active role in the two-hour show. Recently there was speculation that the 79-year-old Republican could receive the new peace prize from the world association FIFA. This caused a lot of criticism and astonishment. So far, Trump has hardly missed an opportunity to use the mega event as a stage for himself. We also remember his bizarre appearance in the front row at Chelsea FC’s presentation ceremony as winners of the Club World Cup last summer.
6:06 p.m
The show is moderated by German model Heidi Klum and actor Kevin Hart. We’ll have to get used to the fact that most of the evening’s protagonists have about as much to do with football as Donald Trump.
6:02 p.m
The first show act provides a monumental start; Opera legend Andrea Bocelli sings Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot.
6:00 p.m
The show begins!
5:53 p.m
Just as important for the DFB team as the luck of the draw today is the question of logistics when the game plans are drawn up. Germany would like to compete on the east coast or in the Midwest in the USA in order to avoid forever long distances. FIFA will determine the game plan on Saturday (from 6 p.m. German time). Until then, the world association wants to work on a plan that will allow the games to take place in the respective home countries at the best possible kick-off times; in Germany that would be the hot lunchtime locally. Then Dallas or Atlanta would be favorable venues because there is a roof over the air-conditioned arenas. Here you can see all the venues by clicking through…
5:51 p.m
There is a new rule: the best two teams in the world rankings, Spain and Argentina, are assigned so that they can only meet in the final if they win their group. France and England, the next best teams, can only meet them in the semi-finals if they also win their group. This rule has no influence on the German World Cup route.
5:49 p.m
What we already know is which tickets will be drawn from which pot today. Germany comes from Pot 1 and escapes heavyweights like France and England in the group phase. However, pot 2 includes the Japanese, who were the downfall of the DFB team at the last World Cup. In pot 3, the German Erling Haaland and his strong Norwegians could beckon. In addition, the play-off teams in Pot 4, including Italy and Türkiye, could jump on the World Cup bandwagon. However, one thing is certain: the DFB team will not face more than one opponent from Europe in the group phase. The following applies to the UEFA nations: At least one must and a maximum of two may end up in a group. The lottery pots at a glance…
5:47 p.m
With the new high of 48 participating nations and thus twelve groups in the preliminary round, today at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC will probably be a comparatively long evening, after which a few unanswered questions will remain. So far only 42 countries have qualified. Four more participants from Europe will join the playoffs in March, and two teams will also be determined in an intercontinental play-off tournament in Mexico. We won’t fully know who will be there until March 31, 2026.
5:45 p.m
Welcome to the live ticker of the group draw for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.