Kick-off, finally, for Brazil’s sixth attempt at a sixth championship. After all, this Friday (5), at exactly two o’clock in the afternoon (Brasilia time), in Washington, at the Kennedy Center, FIFA is promoting the draw that will determine the team’s top three competitors in the 2026 World Cup. The biggest winner and the only participant in all editions, the green and yellow team are in Pot 1. They are, therefore, one of the teams seeded in the most important competition on the planet. The United States, Mexico and Canada will host the first World Cup with three different venues and their groups have already been decided (read more below).
But the higher authority will only announce the dates and times of the confrontations on Saturday (5), at the national team symposium, with a live broadcast and expert comments. FIFA realizes that it can respect each country’s time zone by separating the draw from the details of the World Cup sequence, the first of which includes 48 teams, divided into 12 groups of four teams. From June 11 to July 19, there will be 104 matches in a competition that will require complex logistics from its participants.
The selection targets the West Coast
Although it is not yet officially known where he will begin his journey, the Brazilian team has already given some indications about where it would like to establish its base. For example, coach Carlo Ancelotti has said he prefers to stay on the West Coast to avoid the humidity and extreme heat of places like New York and Philadelphia in June, summertime in the Northern Hemisphere. Brazilian forces, in turn, monitor more than 30 training camps. Therefore, cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver emerge as the best options due to their temperatures.
Brazil have not lifted the trophy since 2022. It has been a 24-year drought and five frustrating attempts to get back to the top. In this drought, the team went even further in 2014, when it reached the semi-finals, but lost to Germany 7-1, in the middle of the Mineirau Stadium. On the other four occasions, the team fell in the quarter-finals (France – 2006, Netherlands – 2010, Belgium – 2018 and Croatia – 2022).
This Friday’s concert is scheduled to last an hour and 40 minutes and will feature North American sports figures such as Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Brady. President Donald Trump will also be present, even with a special appearance. Delegations of the qualified teams are already in Washington, with the exception of Iran, whose leaders have been denied visas (in protest, countrymen who were allowed to enter the United States did not travel).
World Cup bowls
1: Canada (B), Mexico (A), United States (D), Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany
2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia
3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, four European Repechage winners and two World Repechage seeds
During the group stage, FIFA prevents two teams from the same federation from facing each other. The exception is Europe. The Old Continent brings together more choices (16). In other words, each bracket can include two UEFA teams.
Another feature of this edition is that the best selections are ranked in opposite brackets: The best (Spain) was on the first side, along with the fourth (England). In the second group, Argentina (third place) and France (fourth place) remained.
Place your bets and run the simulators before the North American players even touch the balls!
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