Mexico will open the World Cup against South Africa, while holders Argentina will face Algeria in their first game.
After weeks of a politically charged build-up to the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw and amid the presence of United States President Donald Trump, the focus swiftly shifted to football as the fate of the participating teams was unveiled at the event in Washington, DC.
President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum were all in attendance as the leaders of the three co-host nations as the US capital played host for the event at the Kennedy Center on Friday.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded the US president the new FIFA Peace Prize, having been termed the favourite to receive it in the weeks since the award’s announcement in November.
However, for the 42 qualified teams, their officials and fans, it was the latter half of the event that carried more weight as the 12 tournament groups of four teams each were drawn.
The World Cup’s first game will be a throwback to 2010 when Mexico take on South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the 2010 edition’s tournament opener. Football fans will hope the 2026 version’s opening goal matches the screamer scored by then-hosts South Africa’s Lawrence Tshabalala.
Mexico’s group, A – which also includes South Korea and one of Denmark, Macedonia, Czechia or Ireland – will be one of the toughest of the 12.
Team USA are placed alongside Australia, Paraguay, plus one of Turkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo.
Canada, too, face the challenging task of making it out of a group comprising Switzerland, Qatar and one of Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia.
The 42 confirmed nations are:
Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
Oceania: New Zealand
Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Curacao, Panama, Haiti, USA, Mexico, Canada
The tournament will be made up of one group-stage round and four knockout rounds before the final.
Unlike previous editions, the knockouts will begin with the round of 32, followed by the round of 16, the four quarterfinals and two semifinals.
All four teams in each of the 12 groups will play each other once.
At the end of the 68 group-stage matches, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups will qualify for the round of 32 and will be joined by the eight best third-place finishers.
The ‘group of death’ is an informal term used for the most competitive groups in multistage global sporting competitions.
It is generally assigned to groups that have more high-ranked or top-performing teams in one group than qualification slots available for the next stage.
At the 2026 edition, the toughest groups will likely be: Groups A, D, G and L.
The US president became the first ever recipient of FIFA’s new peace prize – as his close ally Infantino presented the 79-year-old with the award weeks after Trump failed to win a much sought-after Nobel Peace Prize.
Infantino said Trump won the award for “exceptional and extraordinary” actions to promote peace and unity around the world.
In awarding the prize, Infantino told Trump it was a “beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.” Trump promptly placed the medal around his neck.
FIFA announced the annual prize in November, saying it would recognise people who bring “hope for future generations”.
The US president often insists that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending what he says are eight conflicts this year, including a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
The US leader has made the World Cup a centrepiece of his second presidency.
Trump thanked his family, including his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations in his brief remarks, saying the coordination with the countries has been “outstanding.”
“This is truly one of the great honours of my life,” Trump said, adding that “most important, I just want to thank everybody. The world is a safer place now”.
With the European qualification rounds stretching to March and the intercontinental playoff final also scheduled for the same month, we will not know our final 48 teams for the World Cup until March 31, 2026.
The playoffs are divided into two parts: European and intercontinental.
The European leg will seal the last four UEFA spots in the World Cup, while the intercontinental playoff will see representatives of all other continental groups contest for the last two berths.
European playoff teams: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Turkiye, Ukraine, Wales, Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia
Intercontinental playoff teams: Bolivia, DR Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname
In Europe, the 16 competing teams vying for four places have been divided into four playoff paths, with each of the four paths comprising two single-leg semifinals and one single-leg final.
The winners of the four finals will grab the last remaining UEFA spots. The semifinals will be played on March 26 and the finals on March 31.
The intercontinental playoffs determine the last two non-European finalists.
The top two seeded teams – Iraq and DRC – have earned direct qualification for the two finals, while the other two finalists will be determined via two semifinals played between the four remaining teams.
The intercontinental semifinals are scheduled for March 23, with the final on March 31.
Nigeria, Chile, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Greece and Serbia are some of the biggest names missing from the tournament.
Ronaldo has confirmed that the tournament will be his swansong on football’s biggest stage.
The Portuguese superstar is the top scorer in history with 143 international goals and is the most capped men’s international footballer with 226 appearances.
Despite his appearance at five FIFA World Cups, Ronaldo has not lifted the trophy for his country.
Meanwhile, Messi has also expressed hope that he will lead Argentina’s title defence in North America but acknowledged that his age and fitness will dictate his role.
“I’m going to take it one day at a time; being honest and trying to be realistic and feel good,” he said in an interview with ESPN Argentina this week.
“This year I felt very good.”
The Inter Miami star admitted that playing club football in the US will make it easier for him to consider his participation.
“It’s something extraordinary to be able to be in a World Cup, and I would love to,” the Argentinian captain said in another interview in October.
“I would like to be there, to be well, and be an important part of helping my team, if I am there. I’m going to assess that on a day-to-day basis when I start preseason next year with Inter, and see if I can really be 100 percent, if I can be useful, and then make a decision.
“I’m really eager because it’s a World Cup. We’re coming off winning the last one, and being able to defend it on the field again is spectacular, because it’s always a dream to play with the national team.”
The tournament begins on June 11 and ends on July 19.
The tournament will begin at the Mexico City Stadium, while the US will host the final at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The schedule will be confirmed on Saturday.
