World Cup 2026: FIFA separates the top two seeds in the draw

The 12 groups in the World Cup will include one team from each of the four pots.

FIFA will begin by drawing teams from the first pot.

Host nations Mexico (A1), Canada (B1) and the United States (D1) will have colored balls with their flags on them to indicate their special status. Their group positions are determined in advance, so they play all their matches in their home countries.

Once the team has been drawn, you will be moved to the first available group in alphabetical order. The draw computer will ensure that Spain, Argentina, France and England are placed in groups in the correct section of the bracket.

The drawing continues after that with the second pot, the third pot, and finally the fourth pot.

In a change to the previous lottery procedures, and to speed up the process, countries will not be drawn to their positions in the groups.

All ranked countries will move into first place, with a pre-determined random grid determining how all other countries in the group are ranked to create the matches.

No group can include more than one country from the same federation. So for example, when Colombia is withdrawn from Pot Two, it cannot qualify for a group with Argentina or Brazil.

This applies to all pots, with the caveat that four groups will include two European teams, as there are 16 European qualifiers that will be divided into 12 groups.

The inter-confederation play-offs will have a few potential group options. Track 1 (New Caledonia, Jamaica and DR Congo) cannot be placed in a group containing CONCACAF or African national teams. The second track (Bolivia, Suriname, Iraq) should avoid South America, CONCACAF and Asia.

While the date and standings of the matches will be known when the draw is made, venues and kick-off times will not be confirmed until Saturday 6 December.