On Friday at 6 p.m
World Cup 2026: Here you can see the draw live on free TV
Updated 12/5/2025 – 11:39 amReading time: 2 minutes
The German national team is going to the World Cup next year. The draw takes place in December. So you can see them live.
The World Cup will take place in the USA, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026. From June 11th to July 19th the 48 teams will fight for the title. The draw for the major event will take place on December 5th in Washington, DC. It starts at 6 p.m. Central European time.
Yes, ZDF will broadcast the draw on free-to-air television. The drawing of the balls can also be followed via the pay TV channel MagentaTV. FIFA also offers a live stream via its website.
It is already certain which groups the host countries will find themselves in. Mexico will be part of Group A, Canada will be part of Group B and the USA will be part of Group D.
FIFA has also already published the division of the four lottery pots. After defeating Slovakia in mid-November (6-0), Germany is in pot 1 and will therefore be head of one of the twelve groups. This means that the DFB team will initially avoid the big opponents such as world champions Argentina or Thomas Tuchel’s English team in the preliminary round.
Also on Magenta TV. All 104 games can be seen live there. 44 games will be broadcast there exclusively. The streaming provider has also hired Vancouver star and world champion Thomas Müller and ex-Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp as experts.
Unlike usual, the exact game plan will not be announced this time, but will be presented on Saturday (from 6 p.m. Central European time) in a live show moderated by Fifa President Gianni Infantino. Head coach Nagelsmann’s German team already knows about their group opponents on Friday after the draw, and they find out the stadiums and the specific kick-off times about 24 hours later.
From then on, fans can plan their trip in detail. It is expected that European football heavyweights such as Germany, England and France will have kick-off times in the preliminary round in the Central European evening hours and not at night. The knockout round is more difficult to plan because of the many eventualities.
Yes, ARD and ZDF show more than half of the games and have sublicenses. 60 games will be shown on public broadcasters. This includes all appearances by the German national team.
The State Media Treaty stipulates that the German team’s games must be broadcast on “free-to-air and generally accessible television programs”. The same applies to the opening game, the two semi-final games and the final.