US NEWS: The road to the biggest World Cup in history officially begins Friday night when FIFA conducts the group stage draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. For the first time, 48 nations will compete across the United States, Canada, and Mexico in a tournament that already feels unlike any before it.
Forty-two teams have secured their places, while six remaining spots will be filled through playoffs next spring. Those open slots will appear in the draw as placeholders: four European playoff winners and two intercontinental playoff winners.
Argentina enters as defending champion after topping South American qualifying. European heavyweights Spain, France, England, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany are all confirmed, along with Brazil. Morocco, which became the first African side to reach a semifinal in 2022, dominated its group and looks capable of another deep run.
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Several countries are ending long droughts. Scotland, Norway, and Austria return for the first time since 1998. Haiti is back after a fifty-year absence. Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan will make their World Cup debuts, with Curaçao setting a new record as the smallest nation by population ever to qualify.
Notably absent will be Nigeria, and Italy could miss a third consecutive tournament if it fails to advance through the European playoffs.
How the draw will work
Teams are divided into four pots based on the latest FIFA rankings. The three co-hosts (United States, Mexico, and Canada) are automatically placed in Pot 1 alongside the nine other highest-ranked qualified nations. Mexico is pre-seeded into Group A, Canada into Group B, and the United States into Group D. Each host nation already knows the three venues for its group matches.
One team from each pot will be drawn into each of the twelve groups of four. No group may contain more than two European teams, and no other confederation may have more than one representative per group.
What the U.S. could face
Thousands of different group combinations are possible. A relatively comfortable draw for the USMNT might include Australia from Pot 2, South Africa from Pot 3, and New Zealand from Pot 4. A far more difficult path could feature 2022 semifinalists Morocco or Croatia, Norway led by Erling Haaland, or Ghana, which eliminated the United States in both 2006 and 2010.
Players to watch
Lionel Messi will turn 39 during the tournament and Cristiano Ronaldo will be 41 at kickoff, yet both superstars are set to appear in a record sixth World Cup. Haaland will finally play on the game’s biggest stage after scoring sixteen goals in European qualifying. Spain’s eighteen-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal and France captain Kylian Mbappé, still only twenty-seven, are also expected to shine.
President Trump expected at the ceremony
President Donald Trump, who claims credit for helping win the joint bid in 2018, has maintained a close relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Trump is widely expected to receive the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize during Friday’s event. The president has attended multiple major sporting events this year and has signaled he plans to remain highly visible throughout the tournament.
Travel and access concerns for fans
Human-rights groups have highlighted potential challenges for international visitors, including lengthy visa processing times and existing travel restrictions that will prevent fans from countries such as Iran and Haiti from attending matches in the United States. Ticket prices are substantially higher than in recent World Cups, prompting the federal government to announce expedited visa processing for supporters. The Iranian delegation initially considered boycotted the draw over visa denials for some officials but later confirmed that head coach Amir Ghalenoei would attend.
Once the draw concludes, teams and fans can begin mapping their paths through the expanded knockout rounds all the way to the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. After years of planning, the 2026 World Cup is about to take its defining shape.
