2026 FIFA World Cup Draw Results (and Early Predictions)

Image Credit: dylan nolte

On December 5, 2025, FIFA hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., the United States. With the draw complete, supporters can finally offer their BOLD predictions!

The draw determines which nations play against each other in the given venue and city, and for given positions in the knockout stage bracket.

Co-hosted for the first time by three nations — Canada, Mexico and the United States — 2026 tournament will include 48 nations for the first time, an increase from the 32 that competed from the 1998 World Cup in France to the 2022 edition in Qatar.

In the newly expanded format, the 2026 World Cup features 12 groups of four nations. While the previous 32-nation tournaments included the top two nations from each group advancing to the round of 16, the 2026 tournament will include the top two nations from each group, as well as eight of the best 12 third-place nations advancing to a new round of 32. The rest of the knockout stage remains unchanged from the previous tournaments.

Interestingly, for the first time in World Cup history, the four highest-ranked nations — currently Spain, Argentina, France and England — are guaranteed to not play against each other until at the least the semifinals.

Moreover, the 2026 tournament will include four nations making their World Cup debuts: Cape Verde (Group H); Curaçao (Group E); Jordan (Group J); and Uzbekistan (Group K).

The image below shows the results of the 2026 World Cup group stage draw.

Source: Independent

The tournament will begin on June 11, 2026 at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, when co-host Mexico will play against South Africa — a replay of the 2010 World Cup match opener. Held in Johannesburg, then-host South Africa had salvaged a 1-1 draw. Also on opening day, Group A rivals South Korea and the winner of the European Playoffs Path D will duel at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, located in the greater Guadalajara area.

Regarding the two other tournament hosts, Canada will open Group B action on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, when they will host the winner of the European Playoffs Path A, which will be one of the following four nations: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Italy; Northern Ireland; and Wales.

Also on June 12, in Group D, the United States will open their tournament campaign at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (greater Los Angeles), California against Paraguay.

To date, 42 nations have qualified for the tournament, while 16 nations in Europe and 6 other nations across the world and outside of Europe will compete for the final six berths in the European playoffs and the Intercontinental Playoffs, respectively. Four nations will qualify through the European playoffs, while two nations will qualify through the Intercontinental Playoffs.

With these results and tentative playoffs in mind, The Go-Ahead Goal’s early-stage group predictions are the following:

• Group A:

  • 1st: South Korea

  • 2nd: Mexico

  • 3rd: European Playoffs Path D winner (Denmark, Czechia, Ireland or North Macedonia)

  • 4th: South Africa

• Group B:

  • 1st: Switzerland

  • 2nd: Canada

  • 3rd: European Playoffs Path A winner (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland or Wales)

  • 4th: Qatar

• Group C:

  • 1st: Brazil

  • 2nd: Morocco

  • 3rd: Scotland

  • 4th: Haiti

• Group D:

  • 1st: United States

  • 2nd: European Playoffs Path C winner (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Türkiye)

  • 3rd: Paraguay

  • 4th: Australia

• Group E:

  • 1st: Germany

  • 2nd: Ecuador

  • 3rd: Côte d’Ivoire

  • 4th: Curaçao (debutant)

• Group F:

  • 1st: The Netherlands

  • 2nd: European Playoffs Path B winner (Albania, Poland, Sweden or Ukraine)

  • 3rd: Japan

  • 4th: Tunisia

• Group G:

  • 1st: Belgium

  • 2nd: Egypt

  • 3rd: Iran

  • 4th: New Zealand

• Group H:

  • 1st: Spain

  • 2nd: Uruguay

  • 3rd: Saudi Arabia

  • 4th: Cape Verde (debutant)

• Group I:

  • 1st: France

  • 2nd: Norway

  • 3rd: Senegal

  • 4th: Intercontinental Playoffs Path 2 winner (Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname)

• Group J:

  • 1st: Argentina

  • 2nd: Austria

  • 3rd: Algeria

  • 4th: Jordan (debutant)

• Group K:

  • 1st: Portugal

  • 2nd: Colombia

  • 3rd: Intercontinental Playoffs Path 1 winner (DR Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia)

  • 4th: Uzbekistan (debutant)

• Group L:

  • 1st: England

  • 2nd: Croatia

  • 3rd: Ghana

  • 4th: Panama

It is worth noting that these predictions are subject to change, especially once the qualified nations that clinched their berths via the playoffs will be revealed.

For more information, see our 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualified Nations Tracker, our first article from our NEW 2026 FIFA World Cup collection!

Comment your 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage predictions below!