With Bayern Munich pair Harry Kane and Michael Olise among those dreaming of lifting the World Cup with England and France respectively, there are some big battles in store for Bundesliga stars in the US, Canada and Mexico next summer after the group stage draw was made.
Harry Kane's Three Lions will be among the favourites to lift the crown - with the Bayern Munich frontman also widely fancied for the Golden Boot.
England are to open their campaign in Group L, with Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah also hopeful of making the squad, against a Croatia side likely to feature Kane's team-mate Josip Stanišić along with Hoffenheim veteran Andrej Kramarić (and possibly Augsburg's Kristijan Jakić plus Freiburg's Igor Matanović). That match is on 17 June in Arlington, Texas.
Watch: Is there anything Kane can't do?
A France side featuring Bayern wing wizard Michael Olise and centre-back Dayot Upamecano are also among the big favourites, but they face a Group I encounter on 26 June in Foxborough (near Boston) against one of the revelations of the qualifying campaign, Norway.
The Norwegians feature hard-working Borussia Dortmund full-back Julian Ryerson and RB Leipzig creative spark Antonio Nusa - and will be determined to make their mark on their first World Cup since 1998.
Watch: Unplayable Olise doing Robben things
One of the more fascinating groups is Group J, which includes Algeria and Austria sides brimming with Bundesliga talent along with Jordan and reigning Champions Argentina, who may call on Leverkusen's Exequiel Palacios.
Palacios could line up against club team-mate Ibrahim Maza in Argentina's opener against the Desert Foxes on 16 June in Kansas City, while Algeria's Ramy Bensebaini could face his Borussia Dortmund team-mate Marcel Sabitzer on 27 June at the same venue.
Watch: Maza wins November Rookie of the Month!
Alphonso Davies, who is on the brink of returning to action after a lengthy injury break, is set to carry the hopes of co-hosts Canada, who face a Switzerland side packed with Bundesliga players - including rising Freiburg star Johan Manzambi - in their final group stage match on 24 June in Vancouver.
Malik Tillman of Leverkusen is one of several Bundesliga-based Americans hoping to make it a successful summer for his US National Team on home soil, and they will face Australia with St. Pauli pair of Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe in Group D on 19 June in Seattle.
Watch: Tillman's World Cup draw reaction
The draw as it happened!
Watch: World Cup draw highlights
Watch: Jackson Irvine reacts to Australia's World Cup draw
St. Pauli stars react to World Cup draw
The Village People conclude the show
The timeless disco hit YMCA finishes it off after we find out all the groups.
Group L
England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
Group K
Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Fifa Play-off 1
Group J
Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group I
France, Senegal, Norway, Fifa Play-off 2
Group H
Spain, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Cape Verde
Group G
Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group F
Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Uefa Play-off B
Group E
Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Curaçao
Group D
USA, Paraguay, Australia, Uefa Play-off C
Group C
Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group B
Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, Uefa Play-off A
Group A
Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Uefa Play-off D
Ghana and New Zealand complete the draw
It's Group L for the Black Stars and Group G for New Zealand.
Jordan and intercontinental play-off winners 1 out
Jordan are, fittingly, in Group J, with another set of play-off winners to go into Group K.
Cape Verde, Intercontinental play-off 2 winners and Euro play-off C winners placed
It's Group H, I and D respectively for them.
Curaçao in Germany's group!
The smallest-ever nation to qualify for a World Cup will face Germany first in Group E - with Ecuador and Ivory Coast also in the group.
Haiti in Group C
The Central American side will face Brazil.
European play-off A
The winners of that path will face Canada in group B.
European play-off D
One of four European sides will go into Group A.
Last up - pot 4
We will know the full groups soon...
Panama and Norway out
Panama will be in England's Group L, while Antonio Nusa and Norway are to face Michael Olise's France in Group I.
Saudi Arabia and Algeria next
Ramy Bensebaini and Algeria will face Argentina and Austria in Group J.
Egypt and Scotland drawn
Egypt are in Group G and Scotland in Group C with Brazil and Morocco.
Ivory Coast to face Germany!
The reigning African champions are also placed with Germany in Group E.
Qatar and Paraguay out
The South Americans will face the USA in Group D, with Qatar in Canada's Group B.
South Africa out first
The 2010 hosts will feature in the 2026 opener against Mexico after being drawn in position two in Group A.
Now for pot 3
Another set of 12 teams are waiting to be split into groups.
Colombia and Croatia out
Luis Diaz's side are in a group with Portugal (K) while Harry Kane's England will open Group L against Croatia.
Senegal and Austria drawn
The African side go into Group I and the Austrians - packed with Bundesliga stars - will face Argentina in Group J.
Japan, Iran and Uruguay out next
They slot into Groups F (with Netherlands), G (with Belgium) and H (with Spain) respectively.
Ecuador to face Germany!
The South American side are drawn in position four of Group E.
Morocco and Australia drawn
Group C (with Brazil) and D (with the USA) are their destinations.
Switzerland in Group B
That's Canada's group.
South Korea in Group A
They will face Mexico.
Now for pot 2
Germany should know one of their group stage opponents soon as the next batch of 12 teams are drawn into groups.
Portugal and England drawn too
The final pair of teams from pot 1 are placed in Groups K and L.
Spain, France and Argentina
The trio go into Groups H, I and J respectively.
Netherlands and Belgium also out
The Netherlands are in Group F and Belgium in Group G.
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Germany know their group!
Julian Nagelsmann's men are placed in Group E.
© JIM WATSON
Brazil are out
The five-time winners go into Group C.
Helping hands in place
North American sporting legends Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey), Aaron Judge (baseball), Shaquille O’Neal (basketball) and Tom Brady (American football) are here and ready to draw some balls.
Talking us through
Another video introduces the procedure. Germany and the remaining teams from Pot 1 - Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium are due to be drawn first and placed into their corresponding groups.
Rio on his way
Former England international Rio Ferdinand is being introduced on a video - he is due to conduct the draw imminently.
The show goes on
We don't have any more teams drawn just yet as Mexico football legend Hugo Sanchez is interviewed before singer Lauryn Hill performs.
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Mexico, Canada and USA drawn
The three host nations are drawn into their pre-planned spots in Groups A, B and D respectively - as a ceremonial start to the rest of the draw.
© JIM WATSON
Three leaders on stage
US President Donald Trump is joined by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on stage - and seemingly will start the draw soon.
Spotlight on former winners
Lionel Scaloni, who guided Argentina to the 2022 World Cup crown, and Roberto Carlos, who won the tournament as a player for Brazil in 2002, are both briefly interviewed.
Just 188 days to go
Heidi Klum reminds us the clock is ticking down to the opening match in Mexico City next June.
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And the winner is...
US President Donald Trump, whose nation is co-hosting the event with Canada and Mexico.
© JIM WATSON
FIFA Peace Prize introduced
FIFA are about to reveal the recipient of their first annual Peace Prize...
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The music continues
Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger are now performing a feelgood football-themed anthem called Desire.
© STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH
FIFA boss on stage
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is now giving a speech and has promised next summer's event "will be the best World Cup ever".
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Here come the presenters
Supermodel Heidi Klum is joined by actors Kevin Hart and Danny Ramirez as the show continues.
© MANDEL NGAN
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We're off!
The big event starts with a rousing rendition of opera classic Nessun Dorma by Andrea Bocelli - which was made synonymous with the World Cup at Italia 90 by Luciano Pavarotti.
© STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH
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Germany represented
German national team sporting director Rudi Völler and coach Julian Nagelsmann have made the trip to the US.
© Kevin Dietsch
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The stars are assembling
Robbie Williams is among the musicians due to perform in the glitzy show in Washington D.C.
© Kevin Dietsch
Pot 1
United States (co-host), Mexico (co-host), Canada (co-host), Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2
Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, 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, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA Play-off Winner A, UEFA Play-off Winner B, UEFA Play-off Winner C, UEFA Play-off Winner D, Intercontinental Play-off Winner 1, Intercontinental Play-off Winner 2
Keeping biggest names apart
To ensure competitive balance, two separate pathways to the semi-finals have been established when developing the match schedule. In order to have a balanced distribution of the teams, the four highest-ranked teams in the world ranking, when drawn, will have the following constraints: the highest-ranked team (Spain) and the second highest-ranked team (Argentina) will be randomly drawn into opposite pathways, and the same principle will apply to the third (France) and fourth (England) highest-ranked teams. This will ensure that, should they win their groups, the two highest-ranked teams will not meet before the final.
Intercontinental play-off unknowns
For the two intercontinental play-off placeholders, in order to comply with FIFA’s general principle to ensure that no group has more than one team from the same confederation drawn into it, the confederation constraint will be applied to all three teams within each pathway of the two placeholders in Pot 4.
Any restrictions?
According to FIFA, in principle, no group will have more than one team from the same confederation drawn into it. This applies to all confederations except UEFA, which is represented by 16 teams. Each group must have at least one, but no more than two European teams drawn into it.
Pre-determined places
Co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA have been assigned to Pot 1 with the nine best ranked qualifiers. They have already been pre-allocated to a group each for scheduling purposes. Mexico have been placed in Group A and will play the opening match of the tournament at the Estadio Azteca on 11 June. Canada and the United States have been placed in Groups B and D, respectively, and will play the third and fourth matches of the tournament the following day.
How the draw works
The 48 teams (including six play-off placeholders) have been sorted into four pots based on their FIFA rankings. One team from each pot will be allocated to one of the 12 groups that form the first stage of this year's expanded World Cup.
Three final games
The German FA have so far confirmed three fixtures in 2026 to allow the team to get ready for the finals. They will host Ivory Coast in Stuttgart on 30 March and then Finland in Mainz on 31 May, before facing co-hosts USA in Chicago on 6 June.
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Germany's road to North America
Qualification was quick for Germany, consisting of only six games across three international windows in 2025. They got off to the worst possible start, suffering a very rare qualifier loss with a 2-0 defeat in Slovakia. But Julian Nagelsmann's side made no mistake after that, winning their remaining five games in Group A against Northern Ireland and Luxembourg to book their place at the finals once again with a 6-0 thrashing of Slovakia in Leipzig last month.
© IMAGO/Frank Hoermann / SVEN SIMON
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Klum & Hart to host
Germany's own Heidi Klum has been confirmed as one of the draw's hosts alongside Kevin Hart. “To be hosting the final draw again, after having been involved in this show 20 years ago in my home country, is truly extraordinary,” said Klum, who took part in the event before Germany hosted the tournament in 2006. “The World Cup brings the world together like nothing else, and being part of that magic again, on an even bigger stage involving three host countries and 48 teams, is an incredible honour.”
© JULIEN DE ROSA
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When is the draw?
US President Donald Trump announced in August that the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. will host the draw on Friday, 5 December. The start was latter confirmed for midday local time (6pm CEST).
© DANIEL SLIM
Welcome!
The big event of 2026 will see 48 nations battle it out in North America for the chance to lift the 23rd FIFA World Cup. Germany are among the teams assured of their place in next summer's finals and will now discover their first three opponents for the group stage.
