The teams participating in the World Cup draw have been determined: what has not been decided yet?

The draw for the 2026 World Cup groups is scheduled to take place on December 5 in the United States of America

puts:
Rubens Guilherme Santos

FIFA’s November date marked an end Playoffs to World Cup 2026 And the definition of 42 countries out of 48 participating countries. The remaining six places will be determined in a run-off that will be held next year.

The decisive matches in FIFA history will take place in March. In Europe, 16 countries are competing for four places, while six other countries are competing to qualify for two more World Cups in the continental qualifiers, which bring together representatives from South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, North and Central America.

The World Cup will be up for grabs in the USA in 2026.

Image: FIFA via X/Estadão

To determine the groups, the 48 teams will be divided into four pots, each containing 12 countries. The first pot for the seeded teams will certainly include the three host nations, the United States, Mexico and Canada.

However, FIFA has not yet announced the criteria used to distribute the other three pots, but they will likely be determined according to the November FIFA Rankings, which will be released on Wednesday 19th.

Thus, we will have 12 groups, each containing four countries. The top two teams in each group and the eight best third-placed teams overall qualify for the knockout stages.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup groups will take place next December 5, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, at two o’clock in the afternoon (Brasilia time).