FIFA Confirms 2026 World Cup Draw Pots and Rules Ahead of Dec. 5 Ceremony

Overview

• The 39 qualified teams were ordered by the Nov. 19 FIFA ranking to form four pots of 12, with hosts and nine top-ranked sides in Pot 1 and the next two tiers filling Pots 2 and 3.
• Brazil and Portugal are among the seeded teams in Pot 1, joined by Spain, Argentina, France, England, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
• Pot 4 currently includes Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti and New Zealand and will add four European play-off winners and two intercontinental winners, so a heavyweight such as Italy could still enter via that route.
• Draw restrictions prevent more than one team from the same confederation per group except UEFA, which can have one or two, and the top four ranked teams are placed on opposite knockout paths.
• Mexico will open the tournament against a Pot 3 opponent, the final draw takes place Dec. 5 in Washington, FIFA releases the full match calendar Dec. 6, and six remaining berths will be decided in March 2026 before the event runs June 11–July 19.