The FIFA Men’s World Cup Draw: Here’s how it works

Canada finds out its group opponents today for next summer’s expanded 48-nation FIFA World Cup at the tournament draw in Washington, D.C.

The Canadian men will open Group B on June 12th in Toronto before matches June 18th and 24th in Vancouver.

Forty-two countries have qualified so far, with six more to be decided in March playoffs. The tournament’s full schedule will be revealed tomorrow.

The draw ceremony for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday at 12 p.m. EST, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, are expected to attend.

A record 64 nations will participate to determine which 48 teams will take the tournament field next summer.

Here’s what to know:

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The draw will divide the 48-team field into 12 groups of four, designated Group A, Group B … and so on, down to Group L. Balls corresponding with the competing countries will be separated into four pots of 12, and each group will include one team drawn from each pot.

Six of the balls in pot four do not correspond with any specific country because those spots at the World Cup won’t be determined until March.

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Four European teams will qualify via the UEFA playoffs, and the additional two FIFA playoffs will include teams from all over the world.

The host countries — the U.S., Mexico and Canada — are allowed into pot one. That’s a significant perk because it means they avoid being in a group with several of the tournament’s top teams.

The tournament is expanding from 32 teams to 48, and the draw will separate them into 12 groups of four.

The 12 round-robin World Cup groups are designated Group A, Group B … and so on, down to Group L.

It has already been predetermined that Mexico will be in Group A, Canada in Group B and the U.S. in Group D.

There will be a full reveal of game times set for Saturday.

The highest-ranked team that hasn’t already qualified for this World Cup is four-time champion Italy, ranked No. 12 by FIFA. The Italians still have a chance to qualify via UEFA Playoff A, so teams will likely be hoping to avoid being in the same group with that pot four placeholder.

In the past, World Cups have included a so-called “Group of Death” — a group that seems unusually difficult following the luck of the draw. With more teams spread out across more groups — and with the pots largely organized in descending order of FIFA rankings — there might not be an obvious Group of Death this time around.

But there is still substantial variance in the quality of teams that could come out of pot four, which includes the four European playoff winners (which could include Italy and No. 21 Denmark) as well as No. 86 New Zealand and tiny World Cup newcomers Curacao and Cape Verde.

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There’s broad speculation that it will go to Trump, given his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his unsuccessful campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The new prize, awarded during the draw, will “recognize exceptional actions for peace,” soccer’s governing body said Wednesday.

– With files from the Associated Press