Final pots, procedures confirmed for World Cup draw – SBI Soccer

The pots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been set for the December 5 draw in Washington, DC

Host countries; The United States, Mexico and Canada will be in Pot 1, along with nine other countries. These include Spain, Argentina, France and England.

All teams from Pot 1 will be drawn between Groups AL before Pots 2, 3 and 4 are drawn continuously to those respective groups.

FIFA has established two separate routes to the semi-finals. In order to have a balanced distribution of teams, the four highest ranked teams in the FIFA Men’s Rankings, when drawn, will have the following restrictions: the highest ranked team (Spain) and the second highest ranked team (Argentina) will be randomly drawn in opposite directions, and the same principle will apply to the third (France) and fourth (England) highest ranked teams. This will ensure that, if they win their group, the two highest ranked teams will not meet before the final.

For pots 2, 3 and 4, each team’s group position will be determined according to a predefined allocation pattern. A team’s position within the group is then determined by the pot from which they are drawn and by the group into which they are drawn.

In principle, no group will involve more than one team from the same confederation, except UEFA countries, as there are 16 representatives. Each group must include a minimum of one and a maximum of two UEFA teams.

The confederation restriction will also be applied to all winning teams that qualify through the Inter-Confederation Playoffs.

An updated match schedule, including the stadium allocated to each match and the respective kick-off time, will be confirmed on December 6.

Here is a full overview of the four pots:

Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, 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, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Play-Off winners A, B, C and D, FIFA Play-Off tournament winners 1 and 2.