On Friday, the draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. This event is crucial for separating the 48 teams into 12 groups of four. Following the group stage, 32 teams will advance to the knockout rounds in a single-elimination format. The groups will be labeled from Group A to Group L.

The draw will involve picking teams from four distinct pots, each containing 12 teams. Each group will consist of one team drawn from each pot. The current FIFA rankings of the teams are also considered in the organization of these pots.

In Pot 1, the highest-ranked teams include Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9), United States (14), Mexico (15), and Canada (27). Pot 2 features teams such as Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), and Japan (18), among others. Pot 3 includes Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), and several other nations. Lastly, Pot 4 contains teams like Jordan (66), Cape Verde (68), and representatives from upcoming UEFA and FIFA playoffs.

The host nations—the U.S., Mexico, and Canada—are assigned to Pot 1, enhancing their chances of avoiding matchups against top-ranked teams. It has been confirmed that Mexico will be placed in Group A, Canada in Group B, and the United States in Group D. This arrangement is intended to create more balanced groups for the tournament.

Additionally, the top four FIFA-ranked teams—Spain, Argentina, France, and England—will be drawn in such a way that they could potentially avoid facing each other until the semifinal stage, provided they win their respective groups.

It is also important to note that six spots at the World Cup still hang in the balance and will not be determined until the qualifying playoffs conclude in March. These include four European teams vying for spots through the UEFA playoffs and two additional FIFA playoffs that involve teams from various global regions.

For instance, the winner of UEFA Playoff A will be between Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, or Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Playoff B consists of Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, and Albania. The competition in Playoff C involves Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo, and Playoff D features Denmark, North Macedonia, the Czech Republic, and Ireland. In FIFA Playoff 1, New Caledonia, Jamaica, and Congo will battle for qualification, and in FIFA Playoff 2, Bolivia, Suriname, and Iraq will compete.

Despite being a four-time World Cup champion, Italy has not qualified for the tournament since 2014 and currently sits at 12th in the world rankings. Therefore, other teams might prefer not to be grouped with the placeholder for UEFA Playoff A, given Italy's potential to qualify.

When it comes to additional constraints for the draw, each group must feature at least one European team, but no more than two European nations can be in the same group. Furthermore, no two teams from the same confederation—such as AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), and OFC (Oceania)—can be drawn into the same group.

The final tournament draw holds the possibility of unpredictable group compositions, as Pot 4 could potentially yield a group featuring a prominent power like Italy or a World Cup newcomer like Curaçao. Hypothetical strong groups could include Argentina, Morocco, Norway, and Italy if they qualify, whereas groups involving Canada, Austria, South Africa, and New Zealand may appear comparatively less challenging.

The complete schedule, including venue locations and match times, will be revealed on Saturday. Notably, the match dates for Canada, Mexico, and the United States have already been disclosed, with Canada playing in Toronto on June 12, in Vancouver on June 18, and again in Vancouver on June 24. Mexico's matches will occur in Mexico City on June 11, in Guadalajara on June 18, and again in Mexico City on June 24. The United States will host games in Los Angeles on June 12, in Seattle on June 19, and return to Los Angeles on June 25.