We’re about to learn which FIFA World Cup teams will be in Fort Worth in 2026
The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico is no longer something in the far distance, as the horizon is starting to gleam with the shine of the gold trophy with the first match kicking off on June 11, 2026.
On Friday, the organization and structure of the tournament will come into clearer focus, as the draw for the event will take place that will separate the 48 competing nations into 12 four-team groups.
Where will the United States play, and who could be in its group? What teams could play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington? Here’s everything you need to know before Friday’s excitement-building ceremony in Washington at 11 a.m.
What is the World Cup draw?
For each international tournament commissioned by FIFA, a “draw” takes place that separates the teams into their groups based on skill and rank.
For the 2026 version, 48 teams will be competing for the first time after FIFA expanded the tournament from its previous 32-team bracket in previous editions. This means there will be a handful of first-time nations in the tournament such as Curaçao, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde and Jordan.
In the tournament, each nation starts in a four-team group. Each team will play every other team in the group one time. For a win, a team gets three points. For a draw, one point. For a loss, none. At the end of the group stage, the top two finishers from each group move onto the round of 32. Since there are 12 groups, the top eight third-place finishers will also move onto the round of 32. From there, it is a single elimination knockout round until a world champion is crowned on July 19 at MetLife Stadium.
How is it determined who plays in which group? Are teams just thrown in a hat and drawn at random? Not quite.
How the World Cup draw works
Before the draw, each nation is separated into four 12-team pots based on FIFA ranking — with one caveat. In pot one, the top seeds in the tournament are alongside the three host nations. One team is drawn from each pot to determine the 12 groups.
Because it is in pot one, this means that the United States will be able to avoid some of the top teams in the world in the group stage such as France, Brazil and Spain.
In pot two, the next 12 highest-ranked teams are placed, and the same goes for pot three and pot four.
Who could the United States play?
The United States will have the benefit of avoiding the top nine ranked teams in the world by virtue of being placed in the top pot, but that won’t mean that the Americans will avoid top competition.
In pot two, dangerous teams such as Croatia, Morocco and Colombia loom as higher-ranked squads that the United States. Here are how the four pots will be broken up on Friday with the nation’s FIFA ranking:
| POT 1 | POT 2 | POT 3 | POT 4 |
| United States (14, host) | Croatia (10) | Norway (29) | Jordan (66) |
| Mexico (15, host) | Morocco (11) | Panama (30) | Cape Verde (68) |
| Canada (27, host) | Colombia (13) | Egypt (34) | Ghana (72) |
| Spain (1) | Uruguay (16) | Algeria (35) | Curaçao (82) |
| Argentina (2) | Switzerland (17) | Scotland (36) | Haiti (84) |
| France (3) | Japan (18) | Paraguay (39) | New Zealand (86) |
| England (4) | Senegal (19) | Tunisia (41) | European Playoff 1 |
| Brazil (5) | Iran (20) | Côte d'Ivoire (42) | European Playoff 2 |
| Portugal (6) | South Korea (22) | Uzbekistan (50) | European Playoff 3 |
| Netherlands (7) | Ecuador (23) | Qater (51) | European Playoff 4 |
| Belgium (8) | Austria (24) | Saudi Arabia (60) | FIFA Playoff 1 |
| Germany (9) | Australia (26) | South Africa (61) | FIFA Playoff 2 |
For the United States, it will be drawn into a group with one team from pot two, one team from pot three and one team from pot four.
Now, what are the playoff teams in pot four? Even though the draw will take place on Friday, there are still six qualifying spots to be determined, and they each provide a layer of intrigue.
Solid squads such as Italy (12th in FIFA rankings), Denmark (21st in FIFA rankings), Turkey (25th in FIFA rankings) and Ukraine (28th in FIFA rankings) loom as potential pot four teams if they are able to win their final qualifying matches. For the United States, avoiding one of the pot four playoff teams would be a heavy desire, as it would eliminate the possibility of playing two pot two-caliber teams in the group stage.
What nations will play at AT&T Stadium?
While the draw will not determine which nations will play where, that news will come on Saturday when the complete match schedule is announced with dates, times and locations.
AT&T Stadium is set to host more matches (nine) than any of the other 16 venues hosting games across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The stadium will host five group stage matches, two round of 32 matches, one round of 16 match and a semifinal match.
The United States will not have a group stage match game in Arlington, but the possibility of a knockout round match with the Americans — if they make it that far — exists.
The match schedule will be released at 11 a.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 9:59 AM with the headline "We’re about to learn which FIFA World Cup teams will be in Fort Worth in 2026."
