- Trump, Sheinbaum and Carney join Infantino for expanded WC launch.
- The prestigious event features Bocelli, Klum, Hart and several sports icons.
- 6 spots undecided before March playoffs; full program Saturday.
The 48 nations participating in the biggest FIFA World Cup ever, next summer in North America, were divided into 12 groups on Friday.
The drawing ceremony took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino to represent the three countries co-hosting the expanded world soccer tournament.
“This will be the biggest FIFA World Cup ever. The biggest event humanity has ever known,” Infantino said before the draw.
“I’m going to say it in terms that the American public will understand,” he added. “The World Cup is like 104 Super Bowls in a month.”
Friday’s festivities were hosted by model Heidi Klum and actor/comedian Kevin Hart and kicked off with a performance by legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger sang the official FIFA anthem, “Desire”, followed by the presentation of the first FIFA Peace Prize to Trump. Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal and Aaron Judge entered the drawing.
Forty-two nations qualified. The other six participants are yet to be determined during the UEFA and inter-confederation qualifiers in March.
In 188 days, Mexico will play the first match of the tournament on June 11 against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The full World Cup schedule, including venues and kick-off times, will be confirmed Saturday at noon ET.
The United States is in Group D with Australia, Paraguay and a yet-to-be-determined European team for the playoffs (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo).
Team USA will face Paraguay on June 12 (Inglewood, Calif.), Australia on June 19 (Seattle) and the third group member on June 25 (Inglewood, Calif.).
Mexico is in Group A with South Korea, South Africa and a yet-to-be-determined European team for the playoffs (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia or Ireland).
Canada will be joined in Group B by Switzerland, Qatar and a European team not yet determined in the playoffs (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina).
The top two from each group, plus the top eight third-placed teams, will advance to the final 32 for the knockout stage.
The championship game will be July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The matches will take place in 16 cities in North America, including two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver) and three in Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara).
Locations in the United States are Atlanta, Boston (Foxborough, Massachusetts), Dallas (Arlington, Texas), Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles (Inglewood, California), Miami (Miami Gardens, Florida), New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ), Philadelphia, San Francisco (Santa Clara, California), and Seattle.
The pre-tournament favorites, according to DraftKings, are Spain (+450), England (+600), France (+700), Brazil (+800) and Argentina (+800).
Argentina are the reigning World Cup champions, with superstar Lionel Messi leading the team to a championship at the 32-team tournament in Qatar in 2022.
The rest of the 2026 FIFA World Cup groups:
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curaçao
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, to be determined (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania)
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, to be determined (Bolivia, Suriname or Iraq)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, to be determined (New Caledonia, Jamaica or DR Congo)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
