The draw for the the 2026 World Cup draw is complete and now everyone knows the groups for this summer’s event to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
This World Cup is expanding with 48 countries participating after the previous quadrennial event in Qatar in 2022 had 32 teams. The field will feature perennial powers Brazil, Germany, Argentina and France. Italy has not yet qualified (more on that below). The event will feature newcomers and a return of some familiar countries that have been been missing recently.
The 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of four with each team playing one game against other three group members. The top two teams in the group will advance along with the eight third-place teams with the highest point totals. Those 32 teams will play knockout games until the winner is decided on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Not all groups have an equal balance of teams. The draw separates the 48 teams in four pots of 12. Pot 1 features the three host nations and the nine highest teams in FIFA rankings. The next 12 best-ranked teams are in pot 2 and followed by the next 12 in pots 3. Pot 4 has the six lowest-ranked qualified teams and then six spaces for teams still yet to qualify in the playoff round in March. This structure creates some difficult groups and some that should be smooth sailing for contenders. Which are the hardest and easiest? We rank them below.
Group I
Whichever group had Norway and goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland was always going to be one of the toughest groups, but putting them with France – the champions from 2018 and finalists from 2022 – and a strong Senegal team makes for big challenge that could knock one team of knockouts. Including Haaland, this group has a ton of star power with France’s Kylian Mbappé and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
Group L
The draw did no favors to England as it looks to finally end its World Cup drought. Croatia would have been a pot 1 team without the hosts occupying three spots. The Luka Modric-led group has been to a final in 2018 and semifinals in 2022. Ghana is a dangerous team with enough European quality to cause problems. Panama will need to play above its head to advance. Still, the English are so full of talent that it should get out of this group.
Group B
Group E
Germany has taken a step back from its golden days when it routinely advanced deep in the tournament. Unless manager Julian Nagelsmann can get things sorted, this is a challenging group with Ecuador finishing South American qualifying second in the table and Ivory Coast – the reigning African champions. Curacao will enjoy the experience of playing in their first tournament.
Group A
Group C
Brazil and Morocco might be the two best-matched teams from pots 1 and 2. Brazil – despite all its talent – has struggled through qualifying. Carlo Ancelotti is now firmly entrenched as the new manager, and he has six months to galvanize the group. Morocco is full of European players and made the semifinals in Qatar. It won’t catch anyone by surprise this time around. Scotland is a bit of a step behind those two after a memorable qualifying run. They could cause problems with their defense. Haiti shouldn’t pose much of a problem.
Group H
This is a top-heavy group with Spain and Uruguay, two teams that have combined to win multiple World Cups. Spain is off winning the Euros in 2024 and has depth to endure a long tournament. Uruguay should sail through and could win the group with a strong group of European players, notably Frederico Valverde and Ronald Araujo of Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde have an uphill fight.
Group K
Portugal is still seeking its first World Cup and this will be Cristiano Ronaldo last run with the team. This group won the Nation’s League this past summer and is full of elite talent. There might be a test from Columbia, a rising group that has Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz as one of its leaders. DR Congo would be a possible challenger to the top two if it wins its playoff with Uzbekistan unlikely to have enough firepower to make much of dent.
Group D
The United States last hosted in 1994 and rode a wave of emotion into the knockout rounds. Expect a similar advantage for a group that had some early bumps with new manager Mauricio Pochettino but has had a strong fall – albeit without some of the established stars. It’s a pretty friendly draw with Australia and Paraguay along with a playoff winner from Europe, though Turkey could present a challenge if it advances. Look for the U.S. to qualify and Paraguay and the playoff winner to be a threat.
Group J
Defending champion Argentina with Lionel Messi likely making his final World Cup appearance has the motivation to make a deep run again. They get a pretty easy group with Algeria and Austria fighting it out for second, and Jordan coming last. But crazy things happen at the World Cup. It’s worth remembering Argentina lost its opener in Qatar to Saudi Arabia.
Group G
Belgium failed to get out its group last time. It would be a disaster for a squad with Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and a healthy Romalu Lukaku to miss the knockouts with this easy setup. Egypt does have Mohamed Salah, who has been off form with Liverpool, and could threaten. Iran and New Zealand are a step or two behind the others and might fight for a third-place spot.
Group F
Netherlands – one of the biggest soccer powers not to win the World Cup – couldn’t have asked for a much better path out of the group. Japan is a dangerous team with its unique style of play, but Tunisia and the European playoff winner – likely Ukraine or Poland – should be manageable.
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