What you need to know about FIFA World Cup Draw

This will become a reality for the Canadian men's team.

This week's 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will determine Canada's opponents in the first group stage and its potential route through the knockout stages of the tournament.

Coach Jesse Marsh will find out what Canada will face next summer on Friday, giving him six months to prepare his team as it tries to improve on its last showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where it suffered three defeats, scored just two goals and was eliminated in the group stage.

Here's what you need to know about Friday's drawing (noon ET), which will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Currently 42 qualified teams

Since 1998, the FIFA World Cup has been a 32-team tournament, but next year the number of participants will expand to 48 countries.

There are currently 42 countries vying to qualify for the 2026 World Cup:

Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA.

AFK: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Qatar, Uzbekistan.

CAF: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia.

Concacaf: Curacao, Haiti, Panama.

CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

UEFA: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland.

Six countries still have to qualify

The final six spots will be determined early next year.

Four European teams will qualify from the European knockout stage, which will take place from March 26-31 and will involve 16 countries.

• Italy – Northern Ireland

• Wales – Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Final: Italy/Northern Ireland – Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Final: Ukraine/Sweden vs. Poland/Albania.

• Slovakia vs Kosovo

• Final: Türkiye/Romania vs. Slovakia/Kosovo.

• Denmark vs North Macedonia

• Czech Republic – Ireland

• Final: Czech Republic/Ireland – Denmark/North Macedonia.

The final two teams will be determined during the inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico, which will also take place March 26-31.

• Semi-final: New Caledonia – Jamaica.

• Final: New Caledonia/Jamaica vs DR Congo.

• Semi-final: Bolivia – Suriname

• Final: Bolivia/Suriname vs. Iraq.

Friday Draw Pots

As a result of the draw, each of the 48 teams will be allocated to one of the 12 groups of the first round of the World Cup, which will take place next summer. The top two teams in each round-robin group, as well as the top eight third-place teams overall, will advance to the round of 16.

At Friday's event, 48 teams were divided into four pots. Each bank is sorted based on the FIFA World Rankings released in November.

Pot 1 includes the three co-organizers and the top nine teams. Pots 2, 3 and 4 make up the remaining teams according to the world rankings. The four UEFA play-off winners and the two inter-confederation play-off winners will not be decided until March 2026 at the earliest, so they are placed in pot four.

Here are the pots (FIFA rating in brackets)

Pot 1: Canada (27th place), Mexico (15th), USA (14th), Spain (1st), Argentina (2nd), France (3rd), England (4th), Brazil (5th), Portugal (6th), Netherlands (7th), Belgium (8th), Germany (9th).

Pot 2: Croatia (10th), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26)

pot 3: Norway (29th place), Panama (30th), Egypt (34th), Algeria (35th), Scotland (36th), Paraguay (39th), Tunisia (40th), Cote d'Ivoire (42nd), Uzbekistan (50th), Qatar (51st), Saudi Arabia (60th), South Africa (61st).

Pot 4: Jordan (66th), Cape Verde (68), Ghana (72), Curacao (82), Haiti (84), New Zealand (86), European Play-off Winner A, Play-Off Winner Europe B, Play-Off Winner Europe C, Play-Off Winner Europe D, Inter-Confederation Play-Off Winner 1, Inter-Confederation Play-Off Winner 2.

The draw will begin with all teams in Pot 1 being placed into groups A to L. The same process will then continue with Pots 2, 3 and 4.

In all 12 groups – from A to L – there can be no more than one team from each region. This means, for example, that Canada (Pot 1) cannot be placed in the same group as Haiti (Pot 4) because they are both from the Concacaf region. Likewise, South American teams Argentina (Pot 1) and Uruguay (Pot 2) cannot be placed in the same group. The confederation restriction also applies to all three potential winners of the inter-confederation playoffs.

But this restriction does not apply to UEFA countries – all 12 groups will have at least one European team and no more than two.

The three host countries were divided into three groups in advance. Mexico has been drawn into Group A and will play the first match of the tournament at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11. Canada and the United States are drawn into Groups B and D. Canada will play its first game on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto. The Canadians' second and third matches will take place at BC Place in Vancouver on June 18 and 24.

In addition, FIFA has also adopted a seeding system that ensures that the four highest-ranked countries – Spain (No. 1), Argentina (No. 2), France (No. 3) and England (No. 4) – cannot meet until the World Cup semi-finals if they each win their groups.

Which group will be the easiest for Canada?

Based on the FIFA rankings, the ideal group draw for Canada, ranked 27th (Pot 1), would be Australia at No. 26 (Pot 2), Scotland at No. 36 (Pot 3) and New Zealand at No. 86 (Pot 4).

Another “easy” tie for Canada based on FIFA rankings would be Austria at No. 24 (Pot 2), South Africa at No. 61 (Pot 3) and New Zealand, or Australia, South Africa and Kosovo at No. 80 (Pot 4), but that would require the Kosovars to qualify for European Playoff C.

New Zealand are the lowest ranked of the 42 countries that have qualified for next summer and will be serious underdogs against Canada. Scotland won their qualifying group but will be a much easier opponent for Canada compared to the other European qualifying teams. Canada is well ahead of South Africa and Kosovo and can be considered the favourite.

Austria and Australia are ranked higher than Canada, and the Canadians lost 1-0 to the Australians in October in Montreal. But neither team has the same star quality, and home-field advantage could tip the tide in Canada's favor.

Which group will be the toughest for Canada?

All 12 groups will have at least one team from Europe. But Canada may have two European opponents.

According to the draw rules, Canada cannot be drawn into the same group as another Concacaf team. With the two Concacaf nations able to qualify through a six-team inter-confederation playoff next March, there is a chance Canada could be drawn against one of the four countries emerging from the European qualifiers (which will end up in Pot 4), in addition to a European opponent from Pot 2 or 3.

With that in mind and based on the FIFA rankings, Canada could be drawn into a group with No. 11 Morocco (Pot 2), No. 29 Norway (Pot 3) and No. 12 Italy (Pot 4) if the Italians win the European playoffs.

Another tough group for Canada will be No. 13 Colombia (Pot 2), Norway and No. 21 Denmark (Pot 4), assuming it makes it out of the European playoffs alive.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the biggest World Cup in history means a lot of opportunities for the Canadian team, including going up against countries with large immigrant populations in that country. If Canada were to face Italy in Toronto or South Korea in Vancouver, it's not hard to imagine fans from those countries would flock to the stadium, turning it into an away game for the host nation.