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FIFA Announces 2026 World Cup Seeding And Draw Format For Expanded Tournament
FIFA confirmed the draw procedure on Tuesday, ensuring that Spain cannot face Argentina before the World Cup final if both win their groups.
The system keeps the top-ranked team and second-ranked world champions on opposite sides of the 48-team bracket.
The same rule applies to third-placed France and fourth-placed England, preserving competitive balance in the expanded format.
Even if those teams do not win their groups, the top four seeded countries will not be able to meet until the semi-finals.
The 2026 World Cup draw is scheduled for December 5th in Washington. The updated match schedule, including stadiums and kick-off times, will be released on December 6th.
Hosts Canada, Mexico, and the US are in Pot 1, which includes Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Pot 2 has Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia.
Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
Pot 4 will be Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the winners from the European play-off A, B, C, and D, and the FIFA Play-Off tournament 1 and 2.
Confederation constraints will apply, limiting groups so that no region is represented more than once in a group, except for UEFA, which has 16 entrants and can place up to two teams in a single group.
