World Cup Draw LIVE: Updates from Washington as nations prepare to learn their fates

The FIFA World Cup trophy following the European Play-Off draw
The FIFA World Cup trophy following the European Play-Off drawFABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Today is a massive day in global football as the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is taking place in Washington, DC, from 18:00 CET. Flashscore will provide live updates from the draw right here!

15:00 CET - Today is the day we learn who will play who in the group stage of next year's FIFA World Cup in North America, with the draw to be held at Washington's Kennedy Center, from 18:00 CET. Here, we will provide live updates throughout the draw so you can find out your nation's fate for the finals. 

But first, how will the draw work? In short, of the 48 nations that will compete at the World Cup, 42 have been determined, with the final six to be identified in March via the playoffs.

The 42 confirmed nations plus six playoff berths have been organised into four seeding pots, largely based on the FIFA rankings. All six playoff winners are in Pot 4, regardless of which nations claim those berths.

Check out who's qualified for the World Cup here.

The FIFA World Cup draw is taking place today in Washington
The FIFA World Cup draw is taking place today in WashingtonANP / ddp USA / Profimedia

The teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with one participant from each pot drawn into each group. The draw will begin with all the teams from Pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It will then continue with Pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.

There are a few rules guiding the draw: No more than two European nations can be in each group, and no two non-European nations from the same confederations can be drawn together. In a new rule, the top two nations based on FIFA rankings (Spain and Argentina) will be placed on either side of the knockout pathway, as will the third and fourth-ranked sides (France and England).

Below are the pots for the draw:

Pot 1: USA, Canada, Mexico (hosts), Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany

Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia

Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, the four winners of the European Play-Offs, and the two winners of the FIFA Play-Off Tournament

Tune in from 18:00 CET to find out who is going to play who in football's biggest event! Or, you can watch the draw live on FIFA.com or FIFA's YouTube channel.

Want to read more about how the draw works? Here's everything you need to know!

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