Image source, Getty Images
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- author, Drafting
- Author title, BBC World News
FIFA on Tuesday determined the four national team squads and the rules that will be used in the 2026 World Cup draw scheduled for December 5 in Washington, DC.
So far, eight teams from Latin America have qualified: mexico, automatically for being a co-host, as well Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Another team from the region, BoliviaHe still has a chance to reserve his place in the continental qualifiers that will be held next year.
In total, 42 teams have already been confirmed for the World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada, which will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. There are six more places still to be determined in the qualifiers.
In a statement on Tuesday, FIFA announced the formation of the organizing committee Four barrels From the draw on December 5, from which 12 groups The 48 teams participating in the World Cup will be grouped, in addition to rules to avoid crossing the teams with the best positions in the current world rankings.
Mexico, as the host, has been placed in Pot 1 and will be at the top of the group to be placed directly into the draw. Argentina is also in the hype as they are one of the top ranked teams in the world and the current champion.
Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay were placed in Pot Two, also due to their world rankings.
Panama and Paraguay are in the third pot.
If Bolivia wins the pass, it will be included in Pot 4, where other CONCACAF teams are already present (Haiti and Curacao) and which Jamaica or Suriname could also join.
What will the draw be?
FIFA will hold the draw on December 5 in Washington, DC, starting with the first pot being drawn from the 12 group leaders.
Host nations Mexico (A1), Canada (B1) and the United States (D1) will have colored balls with their flags to indicate their respective status. Their positions in the group will be determined in advance, so they will play all their matches in their home countries.
The selections drawn will then move to the first available group in alphabetical order. The draw computer will ensure that four teams – Spain, Argentina, France and England – are in groups that do not meet until the semi-finals or final.
These teams enjoy special treatment because they have the current highest scores in the FIFA World Rankings.
The remaining picks will then be drawn from Pot 2, Pot 3, and finally Pot 4.
Unlike the previous draw, to speed up the process, countries will not have to wait until their position in their group is determined, which determines the order of matches to be played.
Instead, all ranked countries will move into first place, and a pre-determined random table will determine the place of the other countries in the group to create the initial fixture list.
Image source, Getty Images
European exception
The rules indicate that no group should include more than one country from the same union. Thus, for example, when Colombia is withdrawn from Pot 2, it will not be able to go to a group with Argentina or Brazil.
This applies to all pots, except that four groups will include two European teams, as there are 16 teams from the Old Continent to be combined into 12 groups.
The four UEFA World Cup tickets for UEFA teams yet to be decided will be contested by 16 teams in their respective qualifiers: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.
On the other hand, two teams will qualify for the World Cup from the qualifiers that will bring together Bolivia, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Suriname.
Although the date and standings of the fixtures will be known when the draw is made, venues and kick-off times will not be confirmed until Saturday 6 December.
For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA preferred that the four currently top-ranked nations could not face each other until the semi-finals or final, a lock used in other sports but which will be used for the first time at a World Cup.
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