2026 World Cup draw: Updates as teams await their fate in Washington DC – live | 2026 World Cup
Key events
What about Mother England? Thomas Tuchel has been impressive so far, but can he counter the Englishman’s fear of playing in hot weather?
As the world turns its attention to Washington DCperhaps Football Daily’s considerations of Saturday’s East Midlands derby can restore perspective?
Rio Ferdinand will be joined by Sam Johnson and a host of sports greats, including Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal, as drawing director.
“He said this about ticket prices: ‘I’m a man of the people, because I come from a place where we always hoped things would be accessible. I know the people behind the scenes at FIFA are aiming and working towards something like this now, whether they achieve it remains to be seen.
Last month, speaking to LBC’s Tom Swarbrick, the common man had this to say about his move to Dubai: “If things like the health service, for example, worked perfectly and worked perfectly, I think people wouldn’t hesitate to pay taxes. »
Household : the draw itself will take place at 5:55 p.m. UK time/12:55 p.m. ET. These will be groups ONLY. Kick-off cities and times will be announced on Saturday at 5pm UK time/noon ET.
Kennedy Center Update
Alexandre Abnos
“The security line is incredibly backed up. A huge group of journalists, host city officials, and virtually everyone with a title gathers in the wind and snow waiting to go through security. I’m not having fun.
What entertainment awaits us? The question of how the Village People became the Trumpist’s house band is a complicated one.
Memories of the 1994 draw, held in Las Vegas, where this draw was supposed to take place, via ESPN and Roger Bennett, from 2014.
“The prestigious event took place at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. Thousands of people, including Barry Manilow, Julio Iglesias, Faye Dunaway and Dick Clark, were involved in a fantastic affair that the great Bob Ley described as if “Salvador Dali could create a state lottery.”
“Quite fitting for such a surreal occasion, it was Robin Williams who stole the show. First, the comedian described the draw as ‘the biggest game of keno in the world’, then repeatedly referred to Sepp Blatter as ‘Sepp Bladder’, even after the then FIFA secretary general corrected him, insisting: ‘It’s not a comedy!'”
Via Wiki:
The Navy contacted band leader Henri Belolo to use the song In The Navy in a television and radio recruitment advertising campaign. Belolo gave the rights away for free on the condition that the Navy help them shoot the music video. Less than a month later, the village group arrived at Naval Base San Diego where the Navy gave them access to the film on the deck of the docked frigate USS. Reasoner; Ultimately, the Navy did not use video, choosing to stick with the traditional “Anchors Aweigh.”[
Victor Willis is the sole remaining original member of the Village People.
John in New York gets in touch: “I bought tickets for a group game in Philadelphia so I’m excited to find out which teams I will be going to see. There is part of me worried that it will be Jordan v Panama or something like that. But on the other hand, a game like that might the occasion these teams first World Cup win, it’s a second group game so it might be a team qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time.
“A game with a team like Ecuador or Colombia would be great to see as their fans would bring a lot color & support. I have worked with guys from these countries who were massive soccer fans and would love to see their country at a World Cup game but with the climate in the United States I don’t know if they will want to attend and deal with the likely hassle. I’m a naturalized American citizen from Ireland with an American wife and two children born here. I will be able to travel to a game without any problems. A Naturalized Ecuadorean or Colombian in the same position as me may have to deal with ICE asking them to prove that their allowed to be in the country. Will they want to deal with that hassle in order to go to a game?”
Justin Kavanagh gets in touch: “An armed man, a sniffer dog, and a portaloo. That photo doesn’t bode well for the World Cup ahead of us next summer. I suspect that the average fan (i.e. those not in the corporate seats) will be treated with the same contempt as those journalists are feeling right now, standing waiting to do their job in the snow. I loved the last World Cup held in America, when it proved a weird but welcoming country. But this time round the tournament feels like yet another money grab for the millionaire class… I think I’d rather take a boating holiday off the coast of Venezuela than fork thousands into the coffers of Infantino & his buddy with the blond bouffant.”
Those scenes remind of security at JFK airport, an almost deliberately hostile environment.
Krishna gets in touch: “Is there any plans to have the match balls in a particular shade of orange? Then a Procol Harum tribute band can compose a WC anthem “a proper shade of peach” or “a tighter coat of tangerine”.”
The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts will host the show. What’s on at the venue otherwise? Events include:
The Improvised Shakespeare Company: Based on one audience suggestion (a title of a show that has never been written), The Improvised Shakespeare Company® creates a brand new, fully improvised Shakespearean masterpiece right before your eyes!
And:
Monty Python’s Spamalot: “Everything that makes a great knight in the theater is here, from flying cows to killer rabbits, British royalty to French taunters, dancing girls, rubbery shrubbery—and of course, the Lady of the Lake. Spamalot features well-known songs such as “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” “The Song That Goes Like This,” “Find Your Grail,” and more that have become beloved classics in the musical theater canon.”
America really loves Monty Python, rather a fading force in the UK these days. There’s a Norwegian blue gag in Erling Haaland somewhere or other.
Looks like the journalists will have the Secret Service run the rule over them.
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Benjamin contacts us: “I am the webmaster of www.national-football-teams.com!
“As you can imagine, draw day is something when international football is one of your activities. I want to talk about possible death groups. These are the two most difficult groups I could come up with:
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Argentina
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Morocco
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Norway
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Italy (if they qualify)
“And what about the groups that seem really easy? Well, how about these:
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Canada
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Austria
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Qatar
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Cape Verde
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Belgium
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Iran
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South Africa
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Curacao
All of these groups would be possible in the same draw, and I suppose that might seem a bit unfair. On the other hand, I’m exactly the type of person who would love to see all these juicy matches!
Rogorn contacts us: “One thing about the World Cup draw: I see that the hosts chose to give themselves (or Fifa chose for them) the advantage of having more days to complete the tournament (by being among the first teams to start playing) rather than the advantage of playing last in the group stages, thus knowing what results they need (and third place will be key). If you were in their place, which of these two advantages would you choose?
“One other thing: will the venues also be drawn, or will that be decided by the organizing committee between today and tomorrow? And if so, which teams will be sent where (i.e. which teams will play in the United States and not…not?)”
Venues are announced as part of the draw, with fixtures confirmed on Saturday.
Jamie Jackson
Pep Guardiola reflects on next summer’s World Cup in America, highlighting his experience with Spain in the American heat during the 1994 edition.
“In the United States, in 1994, we played in Dallas [a 2-2 draw with South Korea] and wow. We were outside [as substitutes or squad members] and maybe it would have been better to be inside like Thomas [Tuchel] decided [for England]. In some states and Mexico, it is hot in the summer. You need a lot of drinks.
It was said that Tuchel would keep his replacements in the cooler/dressing room until it was time to call on them.
We will soon know who landed a “group of death”, although the third place of the groups rather reduces mortality. Will Unwin has refined his permutations.
David Hytner hopes the draw could be about football. Let’s hope so too.
It may sound corny when players and managers talk about realizing their childhood dreams at the World Cup. But the emotion during qualifying was real. The scenes, for example, where Scotland secured their first finals place since France 98 with the epic Hampden Park victory over Denmark, will live on forever. And what about when Cape Verde arrived there with the home victory against Eswatini? Africa had five spots for the Qatar 22. They now have nine guaranteed. It will be 10 if the Democratic Republic of Congo wins its qualifying final against New Caledonia or Jamaica.
Here are the pots.
Via the Fifa press release, here’s what we can expect from the razzmatazz side.
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Global icons Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart to co-host The Final Draw Show at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC
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Actor and producer Danny Ramirez will invite football greats to come, bringing a Hollywood touch
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Live performances will be delivered by legendary maestro Andrea Bocelli, Village People and global music superstar Robbie Williams, who will be joined by award-winning multi-header Nicole Scherzinger.
Listen at noon: Jonathan Liew on the political hue of next summer.
The technical details are here, as reported by Tom Lutz.
And how does the draw work?
The 48 teams were divided into four pots, each containing 12 teams. Pot 1 is made up of the three co-hosts – the United States, Mexico and Canada – as well as the top nine teams in the current Fifa rankings. The next three hats were decided by the Fifa rankings, with the lowest ranked qualified teams being in pot 4. The 12 groups for the World Cup will then be formed by one team from each pot (the full pots will be listed later).
It seems simple!
Well, not quite. There are still six qualifying spots to be decided via playoffs at the end of March, and the teams involved in those matches have been placed in Pot 4. That means a team like Italy will ostensibly be the weakest opponent in a group, even if they have won the World Cup four times and are ranked No. 12 in the world, if they make it past the European qualifying playoffs. Teams from the same qualifying conference should, in theory, not be in the same group. But this is impossible for European teams since UEFA will have 16 teams in the draw. There will, however, be a maximum of two European teams in each group. Additionally, the top four teams in the Fifa rankings – Spain, Argentina, France and England – cannot play each other until the semi-finals (of course, they have to get there first)., provided they win their groups.
Preamble
Welcome to our live coverage of the 2026 World Cup final draw. The United States, Canada and Mexico await, and perhaps so do your travel plans. With 48 teams drawn, there will be a lot to know, especially because not all the finalists have yet been chosen. We expect glitz and glamor, and that only comes from Rio Ferdinand and Gianni Infantino, so join us as we check out the latest from Washington DC. The city’s most famous semi-resident will undoubtedly make his usual impact.
