World Cup
2026 World
Cup Draw
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The United States will play Australia, Paraguay and a European playoff winner in Group D of next summer’s World Cup.
The draw for the tournament took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and followed President Donald Trump receiving the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
The full results of the draw can be seen here and you can also watch The Athletic FC Podcast team’s reaction to the ceremony on YouTube.
You can also share your thoughts by emailing live@theathletic.com.
While poring over the groups it is worth remembering that this will be the first World Cup since 1994 where some third-place teams will advance. At that tournament 31 years ago, which was held in the U.S., four of the six third-place teams in the group stage advanced to the round of 16.
At next summer’s competition eight of the 12 will do so. We are in for some head-spinning permutations during the final round of group fixtures and I for one can't wait.
There will be a lot of eyes on whether Jesse Marsch leads Canada to a better result than the U.S. next summer.
Marsch's relationship with his home country, where he was a player and assistant coach with the USMNT, deteriorated after the USSF passed him over to instead re-hire Gregg Berhalter in 2023.
Berhalter was sacked in 2024 after the USMNT failed to advance past the group stage in the Copa America on home soil. (Marsch, meanwhile, led Canada to the semifinal of that tournament.)
This will be Canada's first World Cup during which its head coach is not an Englishman. In 1986, former England goalkeeper Tony Waiters was in charge, and in 2022, it was John Herdman from Durham.
Next summer, American Jesse Marsch will be the man in the dugout.
Panama received a group that feels even more challenging than the one it got in Russia in 2018. Facing England, Croatia and Ghana means dealing with three teams that are hard in very different ways. Ghana was one of the strongest teams from Pot 4, full of speed, intensity and young talent.
England arrives as a real candidate for the trophy, with stars in every line and experience of going far in recent tournaments. Croatia, meanwhile, is a specialist team in World Cups, always organized, tough and able to compete against anyone.
This draw suggests Panama will need patience, discipline and a counterattacking approach. Sitting deep, waiting for mistakes and using transitions could be the path to chase a historic victory. It is difficult, but not impossible, and that belief makes the group exciting.
If you’re Scottish, every group is the Group of Death, because every group ends in death.
Eight times, Scotland has made the World Cup. Eight times, it has failed to make the knockouts.
Seb said the Germans have two words for the Group of Death. Scotland has more for the group stage in general, and they’re all unrepeatable on a family-friendly website.
Speaking to the team's social media account, USMNT defender Tim Ream has called the draw "pretty favorable."
💬 "Really interesting. Obviously we just played two of the teams in our group, Australia and Paraguay, in the last four games over the last two windows, so (we're) excited.
"It's a pretty favorable draw but again it's one that we have to be prepared, we know what to expect. The real work starts now."
At the risk of praising FIFA, fears of an expanded World Cup lacking jeopardy appear to be quite misplaced on the evidence of this draw.
Plenty of these groups look very competitive, with some real giant-killing potential in Groups E and I.
There will be faithful fans heading to the U.S but none more so than France legend Clement Tomaszewski and his rooster Balthazar.
This will be his 10th, yes 10th World Cup. It will also be his last.
GO FURTHER
The tale of one France fan, 305 matches and 35 roosters named Balthazar
Thierry Henry provided insight, as part of Fox's coverage, on France facing Senegal in Group I.
💬 “I'm looking at France vs. Senegal, because you guys need to understand that for us French people, whenever we play a Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria, Ivory Coast or an ex-colony, it is really tough. I'm sure you remember 2002 when Senegal beat us on the opening day.
“When Senegal plays us, or any other country that I explained before, it's a different game. It is a different game. So I'm sure all my friends that I know that are from Senegal are buzzing right now. They're waiting for the game.”
The Athletic's World Cup WhatsApp channel will guide you from the draw to the tournament next summer. …
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Optimism and relief could be a good way to describe the Netherlands’ feelings about the World Cup draw. They have been placed into Group F alongside Japan, Tunisia and one of Ukraine, Poland, Albania or Sweden.
Getting Japan instead of a top-ranked CONMEBOL team might seem like a tough break. But there are five Japan internationals in the Eredivisie, such as Ayase Ueda, Ko Itakura, and Tsuyoshi Watanabe, and that knowledge could play to Ronald Koeman's advantage.
Tunisia will be challenging, so too the European playoff winner, but Oranje should be able to make it to the round of 16 without much suffering. We all know a World Cup is never wholly predictable, and no one should ever be underestimated, however.
PHILADELPHIA — Colombia fan Alejandro Rubio, 23, booked it here from South Jersey after an exam.
“We're going to beat Ronaldo, we’re going to go top of our group,” Rubio, second from left in the above picture, said of Colombia.
He plans to buy tickets.
“I am an adult now, so I have adult money. I might go into generational debt, but it's going to be worth it.”
Mexican Hugo Sanchez, who spoke during today's draw ceremony, was ranked 95th in The Athletic's new book "The Soccer 100," which ordered the 100 best men's footballers of all time.
He was the only player from North America to make the list. He played at the 1978, 1986 and 1994 World Cups.
The draw was kind to Mexico. Very kind. Two rivals on a similar level — South Korea and South Africa — plus one European team still to be determined (Denmark, Macedonia, Czechia, or Ireland). Nothing too scary on paper.
So yes, it’s not wild to say Mexico actually has a shot. First or second place? Possible. It will be fighting those spots with the Asians and the Europeans. Fair enough.
Against Korea, El Tri barely scraped a 2–2 draw recently. Vs South Africa, there’s only that 1–1 from the 2010 World Cup opener. And from the European list? Just one win: Ireland, 2–1, back in 1994.
Since the level on the field isn’t exactly inspiring, Mexico will have to lean — heavily — on the externals: home crowd, Guadalajara heat, Mexico City altitude … even the smog. Whatever gives them an edge.
And Javier Aguirre? No more experiments. No more “let’s try this” friendlies. Portugal and Belgium are coming. It’s time to stop testing and start acting. He needs to field the lineup for the opening match. No excuses. No delays. June 11. Estadio Azteca. Game on.
Here’s where Mexico’s group ranks among all its possible draws, according to our simulator.
If this is your first World Cup, you’re going to hear talk of a Group of Death over the next few hours, which is just a way of describing a particularly strong group.
Germans being German, there are two words for that here: both long, both compounds (of course).
Todesgruppe would be the literal translation, but Hammergruppe is the more fun.
My assessment: Every African team will get out of its group.
Nico and Johnny, two Argentinian supporters, are very happy about Argentina’s draw.
But they are equally excited about the possibility of a Canada-Italy match in the group stage.
“With the Italian population in Toronto, it would be amazing!”
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino responds to Fox Sports commentator and former USMNT defender Alexi Lalas’ claim that the USMNT failing to win their group would be an “absolute disaster.”
💬 “What we cannot do is put pressure on our players. The players need to enjoy and feel free to perform. We need to show respect for our opponents. I understand what you’re saying, but we cannot win before we play.
“We cannot look ahead to the next round when we haven’t played. My message to the players is Paraguay, Australia and the other team is going to be difficult. We need to prepare like each game is the final of the World Cup.
“Thinking we should win before we play the games is the wrong mindset.”