Draw fixed
These are Germany’s opponents at the 2026 World Cup
Updated 12/5/2025 – 8:22 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The World Cup tickets have been drawn. One thing is already clear: these will be some unpleasant tasks for the German national team next summer.
Germany will face Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Curaçao in Group E at the 2026 World Cup. This was the result of the draw on Friday evening in the US capital Washington. The World Cup opens with the game between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa on June 11, 2026.
Nagelsmann and his team are initially spared the trip to Mexico, which was undesirable due to the climatic conditions. The DFB team plays its first game on June 14th against Curaçao. The game takes place in Philadelphia or Houston. After that, they will go to either Kansas City or Toronto, Canada, for the encounter against Ivory Coast on June 20th.
The group final against South American representatives Ecuador, whom Germany met at the home World Cup in 2006 at the end of the preliminary round, will be played on June 25th either in Philadelphia or in the final stadium in East Rutherford near New York.
After the ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Group I with France, Senegal, Norway around top star Erling Haaland and the winner of the game Iraq against the winner from Bolivia-Suriname appears particularly tricky. Austria, led by coach Ralf Rangnick, will play in the preliminary round against world champions Argentina with superstar Lionel Messi, Algeria and Jordan.
FIFA will announce the decision on the venues and kick-off times at another show on Saturday (6 p.m.). Then national coach Julian Nagelsmann starts concrete preparations for the tournament. The appropriate team accommodation should be booked as quickly as possible. Most of the test dates before the final round have already been clarified. All that remains to be confirmed is the opponent for the first international match of the World Cup year, probably on March 27th. The match was scheduled to take place against the Ivory Coast in Stuttgart on March 30th, but after the draw in Washington, the DFB will probably readjust its choice of opponents here.
The national coach will name his World Cup squad shortly before or shortly after the last Bundesliga matchday on May 16th. After the first training camp phase, the last game in Germany before the World Cup will take place against Finland on May 31st in Mainz. The encouragement: Even before the 2014 triumph in Brazil, there was still a game in Mainz right before departure. The score against Armenia was 6:1.
Nagelsmann will then go to Chicago in the first week of June, where the USA will be the opponent at the World Cup dress rehearsal on June 6th. This is followed by the move to the base camp and the tournament opener on June 14th against the outsiders Curaçao.