FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw to Feature Qatar Among 48 Teams

The FIFA World Cup 2026 draw is set to take place on Friday, ahead of the tournament scheduled from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. A total of 48 countries will compete in the tournament, including the Qatar national team, which qualified for the World Cup 2026 after topping Group A in the fourth round of Asian qualifiers, ahead of Oman and the UAE.

This will be Qatar’s second consecutive World Cup appearance, and the first time it qualified through the standard qualification process, after hosting the 2022 edition. The draw ceremony will be held at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, where the 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four teams each.

FIFA has organized the teams into four levels based on the rankings released on November 19. The host countries—USA, Canada, and Mexico—are placed in the first level regardless of ranking. Qatar is in the third level, alongside teams such as Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. This ensures Qatar will not face these teams in the group stage.

The second level includes teams such as Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia. Pot four will consist of teams like Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the winners from European and global play-offs.

The World Cup 2026 will witness a historic Arab presence, with seven teams already qualified: Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Iraq may join through the global play-off in March, potentially making it eight Arab teams. Tunisia, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia will record their seventh World Cup appearances, Algeria its fifth, and Egypt its fourth. Jordan will appear for the first time, while Qatar returns after hosting in 2022.

During the draw, FIFA will place teams from each pot into groups A to L, ensuring an organized distribution. The three host nations will be pre-assigned: Mexico at the top of Group A, Canada at Group B, and the USA at Group C. FIFA will also prevent the highest-ranked teams, such as Spain, Argentina, France, and England, from facing each other early in the tournament by assigning separate paths leading to the semi-finals.

A key rule ensures no more than one team from the same confederation is in each group, except for UEFA, which has 16 teams. UEFA teams can have a maximum of two in a group, while other continental confederations will have one team per group. FIFA will finalize group stage details by December 6, allowing fans worldwide to plan for the matches.

This structured approach aims to maintain balance in the competition, ensure fair play, and give fans an exciting and historic World Cup 2026 experience with unprecedented Arab representation.