Which teams are in the World Cup draw 2026? Complete list of countries, pots, seeds and FIFA rankings

Which teams are in the World Cup draw 2026? Complete list of countries, pots, seeds and FIFA rankings originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first of its kind to expand beyond the traditional 32 teams and welcome 48 nations to the tournament field.

With most participating countries now known, the draw will determine the layout of the group stage and the possible path to the final for each side.

As qualifying concludes and all eyes turn to the final tournament in June and July, fans can get a look at who will be participating and how they will slot into the larger bracket.

The Sporting News brings you an overview of the confirmed teams in the draw, where they will be placed, and who they could find themselves matched up against.

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When is the World Cup draw 2026?

The FIFA World Cup draw for the 2026 tournament is being conducted on December 5, 2025 at noon ET.

It will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

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Which teams are in the World Cup draw 2026?

There are 42 confirmed teams in the group stage. The remaining six places will be filled by the winners of the inter-confederation and UEFA playoff tournaments, which are held in March 2026.

Those playoff "pathway" winners will be assigned to a group at the draw, so the teams entering the playoffs will know their potential group before those tournaments are held.

Teams in the World Cup 2026 draw

Nation

Confederation

Last World Cup appearance

United States (host)

CONCACAF

2022

Mexico (host)

CONCACAF

2022

Canada (host)

CONCACAF

2022

Panama

CONCACAF

2018

Haiti

CONCACAF

1974

Curacao

CONCACAF

None (First appearance)

Japan

AFC

2022

Iran

AFC

2022

Uzbekistan

AFC

None (First appearance)

Australia

AFC

2022

South Korea

AFC

2022

Jordan

AFC

None (First appearance)

Saudi Arabia

AFC

2022

Qatar

AFC

2022

Morocco

CAF

2022

Tunisia

CAF

2022

Egypt

CAF

2018

Algeria

CAF

2014

Ghana

CAF

2022

Cape Verde

CAF

None (First appearance)

South Africa

CAF

2010

Senegal

CAF

2022

Ivory Coast

CAF

2014

Argentina

CONMEBOL

2022

Ecuador

CONMEBOL

2022

Brazil

CONMEBOL

2022

Colombia

CONMEBOL

2018

Uruguay

CONMEBOL

2022

Paraguay

CONMEBOL

2010

New Zealand

OFC

2010

England

UEFA

2022

France

UEFA

2022

Croatia

UEFA

2022

Portugal

UEFA

2022

Norway

UEFA

1998

Germany

UEFA

2022

Netherlands

UEFA

2022

Spain

UEFA

2022

Belgium

UEFA

2022

Switzerland

UEFA

2022

Austria

UEFA

1998

Scotland

UEFA

1998

Italy/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina/N. Ireland

UEFA Playoff Path A

Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania

UEFA Playoff Path B

Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo

UEFA Playoff Path C

Denmark/N. Macedonia/Czechia/Rep. of Ireland

UEFA Playoff Path D

D.R. Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia

Intercontinental Playoff Path A

Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname

Intercontinental Playoff Path B

World Cup pots 2026

The pots are used to determine which teams end up in which groups. One team from each pot is assigned to each group.

Pot 1

Nation

Confederation

FIFA Rank

USA

CONCACAF

14

Mexico

CONCACAF

15

Canada

CONCACAF

26

Spain

UEFA

1

Argentina

CONMEBOL

2

France

UEFA

3

England

UEFA

4

Brazil

CONMEBOL

5

Portugal

UEFA

6

Netherlands

UEFA

7

Belgium

UEFA

8

Germany

UEFA

9

Pot 2

Nation

Confederation

FIFA Rank

Croatia

UEFA

10

Morocco

CAF

11

Colombia

CONMEBOL

13

Uruguay

CONMEBOL

16

Switzerland

UEFA

17

Japan

AFC

18

Senegal

CAF

19

Iran

AFC

20

South Korea

AFC

22

Ecuador

CONMEBOL

23

Austria

UEFA

24

Australia

AFC

26

Pot 3

Nation

Confederation

FIFA Rank

Norway

UEFA

29

Panama

CONCACAF

30

Egypt

CAF

34

Algeria

CAF

35

Scotland

UEFA

36

Paraguay

CONMEBOL

39

Tunisia

CAF

40

Ivory Coast

CAF

42

Uzbekistan

AFC

50

Qatar

AFC

51

Saudi Arabia

AFC

60

South Africa

AFC

61

Pot 4

Nation

Confederation

FIFA Rank

Jordan

AFC

66

Cape Verde

CAF

68

Ghana

AFC

72

Curacao

CONCACAF

82

Haiti

CONCACAAF

84

New Zealand

OFC

86

Italy/N. Ireland/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina

UEFA

Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania

UEFA

Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo

UEFA

Denmark/N. Macedonia/Czechia/Rep. of Ireland

UEFA

DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia

Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname

Who can still qualify for World Cup 2026?

There are 22 teams who are still in the mix for World Cup qualification, battling for six spots.

Sixteen European nations are bidding to claim one of four places in the group stage at next March's UEFA playoffs. The four eventual winners will presumably be placed in Pot 4, although FIFA has not confirmed this.

Additionally, six teams have progressed to the intercontinental playoffs, all from various confederations. This will produce two more World Cup finalists, both of whom will be entered into Pot 4.

How does the World Cup 2026 draw work?

For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a random draw will be conducted to determine the 12 groups, each consisting of four teams.

The 48 teams will be split into four pots, with each group consisting of one team from each pot.

You can find a full breakdown of how the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will work here.