To date, 42 teams have been confirmed, including:
CONCACAF (6 teams): USA, Mexico, Canada (host), Haiti, Curacao, Panama.
Asia (8 teams): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar.
South America (6 teams): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.
Europe (12 teams): England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, Spain, Austria, Belgium.
Oceania (1 team): New Zealand.
Africa (9 teams): Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana.
In addition, the remaining 6 spots will be determined through a play-off round taking place in March next year. Specifically, 16 European teams will participate in the play-off round to select 4 spots. These include 12 second-placed teams: Slovakia, Kosovo, Denmark, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Bosnia, Italy, Wales, Albania, and the Czech Republic. Additionally, there are 4 teams that qualified through the UEFA Nations League: North Macedonia, Sweden, Romania, and Northern Ireland.
The remaining six teams – Iraq (Asia), Democratic Republic of Congo (Africa), Jamaica, Suriname (CONCACAF), Bolivia (South America), and New Caledonia (Oceania) – will compete to determine the two spots in the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA has announced the seedings for the 2026 World Cup group stage draw. Accordingly, the top seeded group will consist of the three host nations along with the nine best-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings. Groups 2, 3, and 4 will be determined based on the remaining FIFA rankings. The seeded groups are:
Group 1: Canada, USA, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, France, UK, Portugal, Netherlands, Brazil, Belgium, Germany
Group 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia.
Group 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Group 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, and 6 teams that qualified through the play-offs.
Principles of drawing lots
FIFA will conduct the draw sequentially from Group 1 to Group 4. The 48 teams are divided into 12 groups, with 4 teams in each group. As per usual practice, two teams from the same confederation cannot be in the same group, except in UEFA, where each group is allowed a maximum of two European teams. This rule aims to ensure continental diversity in each group, while maintaining competitiveness and balance among the teams.
Host nation Mexico has been placed in Group A and will play the opening match of the 2026 World Cup at the Azteca Stadium on June 11, 2026. Canada is in Group B, while the United States is in Group D.
In addition, FIFA will implement new rules to ensure competitiveness in the championship race. Accordingly, the two highest-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings, Spain and Argentina, will be in different brackets. If they win their respective brackets, they will only meet in the final match. Similarly, the teams ranked 3rd (France) and 4th (England) will also be in different brackets.
A "group of death" is likely to appear.
According to FIFA's seeding system, a "group of death" is very likely to occur. Many strong teams that have to participate in the play-offs, such as Italy, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, and Türkiye, will automatically be in seed group 4 if they qualify.
These opponents will pose a significant challenge for the teams. Similarly, the second seeded group includes formidable teams like Croatia, Uruguay, Colombia, and Morocco, while the third seeded group, comprising Norway, Ivory Coast, Egypt, and Scotland, are also quite strong opponents.
A "group of death" featuring Brazil, Croatia, Ivory Coast, and Italy (if they qualify) would certainly attract a lot of attention. Similarly, a group with Spain, Uruguay, Norway, and Ghana promises to be fiercely competitive.
The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 11th to July 19th, 2026.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bat-dau-boc-tham-world-cup-2026-20251205233316017.htm
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