Name: Breaking down the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw
Uploaded: 2025-12-05T18:20:25.168Z
Duration: 4 min 56 s
Description: The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will determine the groups and schedule for the highly anticipated global soccer tournament in the Americas. Alan Rothenberg, the former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, to explain the drawing.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will determine the groups and schedule for the highly anticipated global soccer tournament in the Americas. Alan Rothenberg, the former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, to explain the drawing.

The final draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to take place in Washington, D.C., with 48 countries participating, the highest number in the tournament's history. Canada, Mexico, and the United States will co-host the event, marking the first time three nations have jointly hosted the World Cup.

Officials expect around six million visitors, and preparations are underway to ensure smooth logistics and travel. The draw will divide teams into 12 groups, with new participants such as Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan making their debut. The event will also feature a major entertainment program, continuing a tradition established in 1994.

Breaking down the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw

The final draw of the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in just a few hours in Washington, D.C. That is where each country will be separated into groups to determine who they will play in the first round of the tournament. A record 48 countries will participate as three countries co-host Canada, Mexico, and the USA. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the department's already been working to prepare for the millions of fans expected to attend. We're going to have six million people that are going to come into the United States to watch these games. So I've talked with State, I've talked with Homeland, we've partnered together, the President has given this directive. If you're watching around the world, we're going to make travel seamless for you as you come into the country. But almost more important than that, as our fans go to the games, we need to make sure that we have enough beer and hot dogs. And it's our motor carriers that make sure that we are well-stocked with all of the accoutrements for an enjoyable game. All right, joining me now is Alan Rothenberg. He's the former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation. Good to see you, Alan. So explain for our viewers how this final draw process works and who we're expecting in each pot. Well, there's 48 teams competing. They'll be divided into 12 different groups of four. And the first pot will contain the hosts, U.S., Mexico and Canada, plus the nine top seeded teams in the world. The next pot will be all European clubs. The next pot will be the leftover European clubs and countries from elsewhere in the world. And the fourth one will be the mixture of countries. And the rules are that you can't end up with more than two European nations in your group. And once those groups are set, then they will be playing in round robin tournaments with each one of those four. The top two winners of their group move on to the knockout phase of the tournament, plus the eight best third place winners. So after that, it's a knockout tournament. So that's the technical part. Something we did in 1994 that has now become the norm was we made it a big entertainment gala as well as just the technical draw itself. We had stars from every field of entertainment and all kinds of celebrities. And obviously, that really was important. And FIFA has picked up on that. And so tomorrow and Saturday, we're going to see a bevy of stars that will be part of the draw program. Yeah, I very much remember that 1994 tournament. It was incredible. Amazing. But this year, there's something a little different, right? For the first time ever, there will be three host countries. There's also a bunch of new teams, new countries that are making their World Cup debut. You've got Cape Verde, you've got Curaçao, you've got Jordan, you've got Uzbekistan. Haiti's going back for the first time in more than 50 years. And I guess that's part of this expanded draw. But let's talk about how significant it is to have three hosts. Well, the only other time there's been multiple hosts was in 2002 with Japan and Korea being co-hosts. This time it's three. We're all neighbors, so it shouldn't be that difficult. Probably the biggest challenge, frankly, is the massiveness of our continent. And so from a travel standpoint, obviously, you're talking about thousands of miles between the various countries. So the good news is that on the soccer stage, those three countries are very much aligned. And so some of the outside issues that are going on between and among those countries really don't affect the tournament. It's going to be a seamless tournament. Love it. In 10 seconds, Alan, tell me who you'd like to win. Who I'd like to win is the United States. Who I would predict to win would be one of, I think, Spain, France or England. Allez les Bleus. All right, Alan Rothenberg, thank you very much. Appreciate you as always, my friend. Thanks.

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Breakdown