FIFA reveals pot composition for 2026 World Cup draw
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has unveiled the pots for the 2026 World Cup, with the draw ceremony scheduled for Dec. 5 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The tournament’s debuting national teams — Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao — have been placed in Pot 4, while another debutant, Uzbekistan, has been assigned to Pot 3.
As host nations, the national teams of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will be seeded in Pot 1 out of 12 participants. The remaining 39 qualified teams will be distributed according to their official FIFA rankings. Six winners of the European and intercontinental playoffs are placed in the last pot; these playoffs are scheduled for March, adding suspense. For example, four-time champion Italy, if victorious in the playoff, could end up in the same pot as Brazil — five-time champions.
2026 World Cup pot compositions
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, the U.S., Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, 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, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand and six playoff-winning teams
According to FIFA’s statement, the procedure for the upcoming draw follows the principle of «balanced distribution of the teams.» This means that Spain, the highest-ranked team, and second-ranked Argentina will be separated so that they cannot meet before the final — provided both teams win their groups. The same principle will apply to France (No. 3) and England (No. 4).
Each group will feature no more than one team from each confederation, except for UEFA, which is represented by 16 national teams. This means that each group will include at least one and no more than two European teams.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. It will be the first edition featuring 48 national teams representing six confederations.
The participation quotas are as follows: 16 for Europe, 9.5 for Africa, 8.5 for Asia, 6.5 each for CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, and 1.5 for Oceania. The decimals indicate spots allocated through the intercontinental playoffs.
