The final draw to determine the groups for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to take place Friday, December 5, 2025 at noon ET/9 a.m. PT at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
In total, 42 of a record pool 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four during the ceremony, taking place in the nation’s capital as the U.S. is a co-host of the quadrennial tournament next year along with its North American neighbors Mexico and Canada.
The draw ceremony has a decidedly North American flare to it: Kevin Hart and Danny Ramirez are co-hosting the event along with Heidi Klum, with the trio joined onstage at various points by Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal. Eli Manning is hosting the red carpet, and the musical performers are Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and the Village People.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the Donald Trump White House in the run-up to the tournament, also will be presenting the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the ceremony. The recipient has not be revealed, but don’t bet against a certain current U.S. president who might or might not have the real FIFA Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office after crashing the trophy presentation to Chelsea over the summer in New Jersey.
Watch on Deadline
Former England captain Rio Ferdinand will conduct the actual draw Friday with the help of broadcaster Samantha Johnson.
How To Watch Live
In the U.S., rights-holder Fox will offer live coverage with a pre-show starting at 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m., with the beginning of the draw set to begin at noon ET/9 a.m. PT. The show is expected to last about two hours, with analysis to follow.
The draw will also be available live in Spanish via Telemundo and Telemundo Deportes, with that pre-show starting at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. ET.
In the UK, the draw will be live beginning at 5 p.m. GMT and can be watched on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. In Canada, it is being shown live on TSN and its YouTube channel. Australians will have to rise early on Saturday to watch live via SBS, SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand. (Country-by-country broadcasters here.)
The draw will also be streaming live on FIFA.com.
Who’s In?
A total of 42 teams have qualified so far including the host countries (Team USA, Mexico and Canada) who always get a bye into the tournament. The other regional qualifiers who will hear their names called at some point Friday (via a numbing four-pot-draw system) are:
Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan (from the Asian Football Confederation); Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia (Confederation of African Football); Curaçao, Haiti and Panama (CONCACAF — that’s the region that includes all three host countries); defending champion Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay (South America’s CONMEBOL); New Zealand (Oceania Football Confederation); and Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland (Europe’s UEFA).
The final six teams in the tournament will be determined by a pair of playoffs that will eventually add four European-based teams and two from the remaining regions. Those countries still in the hunt: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Türkiye, Ukraine and Wales (from UEFA), as well as Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname (the rest). Those games will be played in March.
What’s Next?
After the draw procedure drafts the 42 team and six placeholder spots, FIFA on Saturday will reveal the games assigned to the previously announced schedule for the World Cup, which runs June 11-July 19, 2026. After the final playoff teams are added, that will finalize what will be a total of 104 games across 16 host cities in the three countries.
Games will be played at venues in three regions: Western (Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area and Vancouver B.C.); Central (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas and Kansas City); and Eastern (Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York/New Jersey).
The opening game June 11 is already set to be held at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, while Team USA’s first game is set to be in L.A. New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will host the final on the tournament’s 39th day.