FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw Highlights: Argentina start title defence vs Algeria, England vs Croatia and Spain vs Uruguay big clashes after draw

Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa

Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland

Group D: United States, Australia, Paraguay

Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt

Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia

Group I: France, Senegal, Norway

Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria

Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan

Group L: England, Croatia, Panama

Group A: Mexico

Group B: Canada

Group C: Brazil

Group D: United States

Group E: Germany

Group F: Netherlands

Group G: Belgium

Group H: Spain

Group I: France

Group J: Argentina

Group K: Portugal

Group L: England

And we still wait for the draw to begin as Lauryn Hill is performing now. We have to be patient for a little bit longer.

First team drawn is Canada. The second team drawn is Mexico. The third team is USA. As we already knew these three teams will be in Group A, Group B and Group D respectively. This is like a ceremonial picks where we already knew what would be happening.

2002 World Cup winner Roberto Carlos is interviewed next and the World Cup trophy is brought to the stage by Argentine World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni. The draw will begin imminently.

Nicole Scherzinger and Robbie Williams now perform an anthem of the World Cup 2026. It's called Desire

And we welcome the hosts of tonight's ceremony as Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart make their way to the stage.

3rd place match

Saturday, 18 July 2026

Match 103 – Loser match 101 v Loser match 102 - Miami Stadium

FIFA World Cup 2026 Final

Sunday, 19 July 2026

Match 104 – Winner match 101 v Winner match 102 - New York New Jersey Stadium

Thursday, 9 July 2026

Match 97 – Winner match 89 v Winner match 90 - Boston Stadium

Friday, 10 July 2026

Match 98 – Winner match 93 v Winner match 94 - Los Angeles Stadium

Saturday, 11 July 2026

Match 99 – Winner match 91 v Winner match 92 - Miami Stadium

Match 100 – Winner match 95 v Winner match 96 - Kansas City Stadium

Saturday, 4 July 2026

Match 89 – Winner match 74 v Winner match 77 - Philadelphia Stadium

Match 90 – Winner match 73 v Winner match 75 - Houston Stadium

Sunday, 5 July 2026

Match 91 – Winner match 76 v Winner match 78 - New York New Jersey Stadium

Match 92 – Winner match 79 v Winner match 80 - Mexico City Stadium

Monday, 6 July 2026

Match 93 – Winner match 83 v Winner match 84 - Dallas Stadium

Match 94 – Winner match 81 v Winner match 82 - Seattle Stadium

Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Match 95 – Winner match 86 v Winner match 88 - Atlanta Stadium

Match 96 – Winner match 85 v Winner match 87 - BC Place Vancouver

Sunday, 28 June 2026

Match 73 – Group A runners-up v Group B runners-up - Los Angeles Stadium

Monday, 29 June 2026

Match 74 – Group E winners v Group A/B/C/D/F third place - Boston Stadium

Match 75 – Group F winners v Group C runners-up - Estadio Monterrey

Match 76 – Group C winners v Group F runners-up - Houston Stadium

Tuesday, 30 June 2026

Match 77 – Group I winners v Group C/D/F/G/H third place - New York New Jersey Stadium

Match 78 – Group E runners up v Group I runners-up - Dallas Stadium

Match 79 – Group A winners v Group C/E/F/H/I third place - Mexico City Stadium

Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Match 80 – Group L winners v Group E/H/I/J/K third place - Atlanta Stadium

Match 81 – Group D winners v Group B/E/F/I/J third place - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Match 82 – Group G winners v Group A/E/H/I/J third place - Seattle Stadium

Thursday, 2 July 2026

Match 83 – Group K runners-up v Group L runners-up - Toronto Stadium

Match 84 – Group H winners v Group J runners-up - Los Angeles Stadium

Match 85 – Group B winners v Group E/F/G/I/J third place - BC Place Vancouver

Friday, 3 July 2026

Match 86 – Group J winners v Group H runners-up - Miami Stadium

Match 87 – Group K winners v Group D/E/I/J/L third place - Kansas City Stadium

Match 88 – Group D runners-up v Group G runners-up - Dallas Stadium

Curacao – the island whose entire population can fit into the Narendra Modi Stadium and Eden Gardens and still leave some 20,000 seats vacant – became the smallest ever nation to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Haiti, ravaged by conflict and famine, ended their 52-year wait to make the cut for the biggest single-sport event on the planet, without any of the players or the coach setting foot on home soil.

Uzbekistan has tried and failed to qualify for the World Cup seven times since its independence, following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. They came painfully close for Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014 editions. This time, finally, they crossed the line.

- Mihir Vasavda writes

The Iranian football federation (FFIRI) decided to boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw after the United States refused to grant visas to several important members of its delegation, including federation president Mehdi Taj. Denying him a visa is significant since Taj is part of two governing body committees that have oversight of the tournament. He is also a vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation.

Only four officials, including Iran’s head coach Amir Ghalenoei, got visas, with the FFIRI saying that the decisions by the US authorities were “unsportsmanlike”.

This World Cup will be one of the big ones, not only because it has 48 teams participating but also for the fact that this one is likely going to be the last-ever World Cup the two footballing behemoths in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will play in. If it turns out to be so, it'll truly be the end of an era. While Messi finally won the big one in 2022, Ronaldo is yet to touch the holy grail. Can he do it next year? Or will Messi successfully help the Argentinians defend their crown? We'll find out in 6 months' time.

While the teams will find out their opponents on Friday, they will have to wait till Saturday to find out where and when they will be playing.

The draw at Washington's Kennedy Center will be preceded by a glitz-rich show dripping in VIPs, with the expected presentation of FIFA's new peace prize to President Donald Trump vying with live shows by Andrea Bocelli and the Village People for top billing. Once that is all out of the way, the allocation of groups for the expanded 48-team competition will begin.

The world's top 11-ranked teams have all qualified, with No. 12 Italy among 22 nations competing in playoffs for the final six berths to be decided March 31.

The draw will also be made in such a way that the top 4 ranked teams do not face each other till late in the tournament like the semifinal or the final. So, fans salivating over the prospect of seeing holders Argentina (Rank 2) take on Spain (Rank 1) or France (Rank 3) take on England (Rank 4) in the preliminary stages may need to temper their expectations.

Pot 1: Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9), United States (14), Mexico (15), Canada (27).

Pot 2: Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26).

Pot 3: Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), Scotland (36), Paraguay (39), Tunisia (40), Ivory Coast (42), Uzbekistan (60), Qatar (51), Saudi Arabia (60), South Africa (61).

Pot 4: Jordan (66), Cape Verde (68), Ghana (72), Curaçao (82), Haiti (84), New Zealand (86), UEFA Playoff A, UEFA Playoff B, UEFA Playoff C, UEFA Playoff D, FIFA Playoff 1, FIFA Playoff 2.

The biggest ever FIFA World Cup is about 6 months away with an unprecedented 48 teams taking part in the tournament which has 104 matches spread across 3 countries. The event, which is jointly hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada, will take place in 16 cities. But before we get to the main event, tonight, we find out the group stage draw where the 48 teams will find out who they will face in the preliminary group stages. Stay with us, it'll be an exciting affair.