After the German national team’s qualifying showdown, the group draw for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico takes place. When and where does it take place? Who can Germany face in the finals? sport.de has put together the most important information about the draw.
When and where will the draw for the 2026 World Cup take place?
On December 5th, the eyes of the football world will turn to the US capital Washington DC: from 6 p.m. (German time) the draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The 48 participants in the new XXL World Cup will be divided into twelve groups. There will be 104 games in North America.
Where will the draw for the 2026 World Cup be broadcast on TV and stream?
FIFA offers its own stream on fifa.com and its social media channels. The German rights holder MagentaTV will also be there live on December 5th from 5:45 p.m.
In addition, ZDF, which has also secured TV rights to the World Cup together with ARD, is offering a live broadcast of the draw on free TV.
sport.de reports on the World Cup draw in the detailed live ticker.
Which teams are already qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
In addition to Germany, 41 other nations have already bought their World Cup tickets. So 42 participants have been confirmed. The remaining six will be determined through playoffs.
Video: Helmes explains the ups and downs of the DFB team
These nations have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico:
- Host (3): USA, Canada, Mexico
- Asia (8): Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
- Oceania (1): New Zealand
- Europe (12): England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, GermanyNetherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Scotland
North and Central America (3): Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
South America (6): Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia
Africa (9): Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal
A playoff tournament will take place in March 2026 for European teams. These 16 teams qualified:
- Slovakia (runners-up in Group A)
- Kosovo (runners-up in Group B)
- Denmark (runners-up in Group C)
- Ukraine (runners-up in Group D)
- Türkiye (runners-up in Group E)
- Ireland (runners-up in Group F)
- Poland (runners-up in Group G)
- Bosnia-Herzegovina (runners-up in Group H)
- Italy (runners-up in Group I)
- Wales (runners-up in Group J)
- Albania (runners-up in Group K)
- Czech Republic (runners-up in Group L)
- Romania (group winner Nations League)
- Sweden (group winner Nations League)
- Northern Ireland (group winner Nations League)
- North Macedonia (group winner Nations League)
There is also an intercontinental playoff tournament. The following nations are taking part:
- Bolivia
- DR Congo
- New Caledonia
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Suriname
The playoff qualifiers will be drawn into the World Cup groups using wildcards.
How does the World Cup draw work for Germany?
The team of national coach Julian Nagelsmann is one of the twelve group heads. The DFB team will avoid top teams such as Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil and England in the group phase.
Nevertheless, there is a threat of tough opponents, for example Denmark or Italy, depending on their performance in the playoffs.
The World Cup draw pots at a glance:
Draw pot 1: USA, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Draw pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Draw pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Draw pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand as well as the four winners of the European play-off tournament and the two winners of the intercontinental play-off tournament