US EditionThe Latest: 2026 FIFA World Cup Groups Are Set. See What the Tournament Could Bring
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature a record 48 teams in 12 groups, with six spots still to be decided in playoffs scheduled for March, FIFA said.
- Dec. 5, 2025, at the Kennedy Center, FIFA divided a record 48 teams into 12 groups of four for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico with Claudia Sheinbaum, Mark Carney and Donald Trump onstage.
- The change stems from FIFA's expansion to 48 teams, prompting a four pots of 12 format with Pot 1 holding hosts plus nine top teams and Pot 4 reserving six playoff spots for March playoffs.
- The ceremony also served as a spectacle, featuring Andrea Bocelli's performance, Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum co-hosting alongside sports icons, and FIFA awarding its inaugural Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump.
- The U.S. will open against Paraguay in Los Angeles; Group C features Brazil vs. Haiti, and Iran must play its first game in Inglewood or Seattle despite U.S. travel restrictions.
- The detailed schedule will be announced Saturday, with six remaining qualification spots to be decided in March's playoffs, and Gianni Infantino projects 6 billion viewers globally.
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Groups and match-ups revealed for game-changing FIFA World Cup 2026™
Spectacular draw reveals 12 exciting groups of four for game-changing tournament The groups and match-ups for next year’s FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting event in history, have been revealed in the capital of the United States, Washington DC. Before a live studio audience of nearly 2,000 international guests at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and with an audience of millions engaging globally, the twelve groups of four t…
The tricolors have found out which group Romania will play in at the 2026 World Cup, if Mircea Lucescu's national team makes it there! The draw for the 2026 World Cup final tournament took place on Friday, December 5, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. On the occasion of the first edition of the World Cup in which 48 teams participate (June 11 - July 19, 2026), the composition of the 12 groups of 4 teams each…
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