KC fan guide: How & when FIFA will draw teams and set World Cup matchup schedule
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- FIFA will draw 48 World Cup teams into 12 groups Friday at 11 a.m.
- Group-stage venues announced Saturday at 11 a.m.; KC hosts 4 group-stage games.
- Pots assign teams by FIFA rankings; Pot 1 also includes U.S., Mexico and Canada hosts.
The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is Friday at 11 a.m. Central from Washington, D.C., and on that day, the 48-nation field will be separated into 12 four-team groups.
The group-stage matchups and where those games will be played, including matches in Kansas City, will be revealed Saturday at 11 a.m. Central, FIFA said Monday.
Fox and Telemundo will broadcast the draw and Saturday’s broadcast will be carried live across FIFA platforms, including FIFA.com and FIFA’s YouTube channel.
We know the candidates for each group. Nations have been placed into one of four pots based on FIFA rankings, and each of the 12 groups will get one team from each pot.
Think of it as NCAA Tournament March Madness seeding. But instead of four No. 1 seeds, there are 12. And as many Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds.
In Pot 1 are the three host nations, the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Rounding out Pot 1 are FIFA’s nine highest ranked teams, starting with Spain.
Here are the pots:
Pot 1: United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Columbia, 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, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Playoff A, European Playoff B, European Playoff C, European Playoff D, FIFA Playoff 1, FIFA Playoff 2.
Pot 4 includes six placeholders for the FIFA and European playoffs scheduled from March 23-31. Among the countries looking to qualify in this last chance event are Italy, ranked 12th in FIFA, and 21st-ranked Denmark. Italy likely would have been a Pot 2 team if it had qualified directly.
The host nations already know their groups and the order of their games: U.S. in Group D, Mexico in Group A and Canada in Group B. The U.S. will play its Pot 3 opponent first, Pot 2 second and Pot 4 third.
More about the FIFA World Cup Draw
FIFA attempts to ensure that no more than one team from the same confederation will be placed into a group, except for Europe’s UEFA, which has 16 teams. Each group will have one UEFA team, but no more than two.
The top-four ranked nations — Spain, Argentina, France and England — will be placed in separate pathways, so if they win their group, the two highest-ranked teams couldn’t meet until the final.
The U.S. knows it will play its group-stage games in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Kansas City will be the site of two Group J games (June 16 and 27), and one each from Group E (June 20) and Group F (June 25).
Later, Kansas City will be the site of a Round of 32 knockout stage game on July 3, and will be one of four cities to host a quarterfinal match on July 11.
The tournament opens on June 11 in Mexico City, and the final is July 19 in East Rutherford, N.J.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 11:42 AM.