- Trump, Sheinbaum and Carney join Infantino for expanded WC launch.
- The star-studded event features Bocelli, Klum, Hart and multiple sports icons.
- 6 spots undecided before March playoffs; Full schedule available on Saturday.
The 48 nations taking part in the biggest FIFA World Cup in history, next summer in North America, were placed into 12 groups on Friday.
The draw ceremony took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where US 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 in history. The biggest event humanity has ever seen,” Infantino said before the draw.
“I’ll put it in terms that the American audience can understand,” he added. “The World Cup is like 104 Super Bowls in a month.”
Friday’s festivities were hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and actor-comedian Kevin Hart and began with a performance by legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger sang the official FIFA anthem “Desire”, followed by the inaugural presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize to Trump. Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal and Aaron Judge participated in the draw.
Forty-two nations have qualified. The other six participants are yet to be determined through UEFA and the inter-confederation playoffs to be held in March.
In 188 days, Mexico will play the first match of the tournament on June 11 against South Africa at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
The full World Cup schedule, including venues and start times, will be confirmed at noon ET on Saturday.
The United States is in Group D along with Australia, Paraguay and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff team (Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo).
Team USA will play Paraguay on June 12 (Inglewood, California), Australia on June 19 (Seattle) and the third member of the group on June 25 (Inglewood, California).
Mexico is in Group A with South Korea, South Africa and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff team (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia or Ireland).
Joining Canada in Group B are Switzerland, Qatar and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff team (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina).
The top two finishers from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, will advance to the final 32 for the knockout phase.
The championship game will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Matches will take place in 16 North American cities, including two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver) and three in Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara).
US locations are Atlanta, Boston (Foxborough, Mass.), Dallas (Arlington, Texas), Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles (Inglewood, California), Miami (Miami Gardens, Fla.), New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, New Jersey), 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 is the defending World Cup champion, with superstar Lionel Messi leading the team to a championship in the 32-team tournament in Qatar in 2022.
The rest of the groups of the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
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
