World Cup 2026 draw tonight: Decoding the most complicated draw in history

VHO - On the night of December 5 and the morning of December 6 (Vietnam time), the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals will take place at the Kennedy Center (Washington DC, USA). This is considered the most elaborate and complicated event in the history of the World Cup, when the tournament expands to 48 teams, using a new grouping system, along with a series of constraints on federations, group positions and knockout routes.

Although it did not host any matches, Washington DC was chosen to host the large-scale ceremony.

The event is expected to be attended by US President Donald Trump, along with live performances from Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and the Village People.

The draw will begin at 17:00 GMT (00:00 on December 6, Vietnam time). Supermodel Heidi Klum, comedian Kevin Hart and actor-producer Danny Ramirez will host the show.

Former Manchester United midfielder Rio Ferdinand was tasked with conducting the draw, with the support of sporting legends such as Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O'Neal.

Before the main event, FIFA will show a video introducing the teams, followed by speeches from US President Donald Trump and FIFA President. The total duration of the event is expected to be about 90 minutes.

48 teams are divided into 4 seed groups, each group has 12 teams.

Grouping and principles of application

The 48 teams are divided into four seeding pots of 12 teams each. The three host teams – the United States, Canada and Mexico – are automatically seeded in Pot 1 and have their positions predetermined:

• Mexico: A1

• Canada: B1

• USA: D1

This is a mechanism that allows home teams to play the entire group stage at home and optimize travel.

Teams that win tickets through 6 play-off groups (4 European groups, 2 intercontinental groups) will be placed in group 4. The presence of names like Italy, Denmark, Poland, Türkiye or Czech Republic makes the risk of forming a "group of death" completely real.

From pots 2 to 4, the rule of no more than one team from the same association in a group will be strictly applied, except for Europe – which has 16 teams participating. Therefore, 4 groups will have 2 European teams.

The most complicated is the constraint from the intercontinental play-offs, which can create the risk of deadlocking if not handled correctly.

FIFA's computers will intervene to ensure certain groups must have two European teams and one African team, in order to "leave room" for the winner from play-off path 2 (Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname), the team with the most ties.

If Spain, Argentina, France and England all finish top of their group, the four teams will be allocated by FIFA into four separate knockout stages, ensuring they can only meet from the semi-finals onwards.

For the first time: the four strongest teams get “special priority”

In order to increase the possibility of top matches appearing in the final stage, FIFA for the first time applied the mechanism of keeping the top four teams in the world rankings separately:

• Spain

• Argentina

• France

• Older brother

If these teams finish first in their group, they will be locked into four different quadrants of the bracket. This ensures:

• Spain and Argentina can only meet in the final

• France and England can only meet the two teams above from the semi-finals onwards.

However, this mechanism only holds if the teams are at the top of the table. Just finishing second will immediately cause the team to lose its “privilege” and can face any strong team in the round of 32.

Draw method: no draw for each match

Unlike previous World Cups, this year's draw did not draw group positions (such as A2, A3, A4).

FIFA has pre-designed grids for each group:

• Group 1: 1st position

• Group 2, 3, 4: automatic position according to the specified grid

For example, if Scotland were the first team to be drawn from Pot 3 and ended up in Group A, they would be placed in A2. This would mean Scotland could play their opening match against Mexico.

The positions in the groups of each seeding pot have been predetermined by FIFA and will no longer be determined by drawing lots as before.

Notable contenders: big variation from group 2 to group 4

Group 2 is considered the most complicated, when in addition to strong teams like Uruguay, Morocco, Japan, Australia, there is also the possibility of Italy or Denmark appearing if they pass the play-off.

Pot 3 is no less unpredictable with the presence of Qatar, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Ivory Coast, along with Scotland and Norway – two teams forced into special groups to comply with federation rules.

Group 4 is “a collection of all kinds of constraints”:

• 4 teams win the UEFA play-off (maybe Italy, Denmark…)

• 2 Concacaf teams

• 2 African teams

• 1 Asian team

• 2 teams from the intercontinental play-off (could be Bolivia, Iraq, Jamaica…)

Grouping 4 requires the computer to control dozens of variables to avoid violating the grouping rules.

When will teams know their fixtures?

The teams will know their opponents and the dates of their group stage matches immediately after the draw. However, the venues and match times will not be announced by FIFA until 17:00 GMT on 6 December during a live TV broadcast.

The three groups with the host team – A (Mexico), B (Canada) and D (USA) – have already been assigned venues, but are still waiting to determine the kick-off times.

All 12 groups will compete in the following order:

• Round 1: Match 1-2, Match 3-4

• Round 2: Match 1–3, Match 4–2

• Round 3: match 4–1, match 2–3

A new World Cup, a new journey

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest World Cup in history with 48 teams and 104 matches, spread across 16 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico.

This is also the first time the knockout round starts from the round of 32, meaning a team that wants to win the championship must play 8 matches.

As FIFA attempts to reshape the World Cup as a “global mega-event”, this year’s draw is more than just a technicality – it’s also a demonstration of a shift towards a more commercial, technological and theatrical model.

When the first draws are made in Washington, the journey of the 48 teams – and the three-nation co-host World Cup – will officially begin.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/dem-nay-boc-tham-world-cup-2026-giai-ma-le-boc-tham-phuc-tap-nhat-lich-su-185844.html