This Friday, December 5, the 2026 World Cup Draw will be held in Washington DC, capital of the United States, which will divide the 48 qualified teams into 12 groups. It is the first time that a World Cup will feature this expanded format, and the event will mark the beginning of the road to the tournament to be played in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The event will start at 18:00 (Spanish peninsular time) and can be followed live on La 1 and GOL TV. The coverage will be key for fans who want to know in real time how the groups will be defined and against which rivals each team will debut.
Spain, seeded in the first group of the draw 1
The Spanish national team will be in Pot 1, reserved for the seeded teams, along with the other great powers of world soccer. As confirmed by the organization, the other teams in Pot 1 are Canada, Mexico, the United States, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
🍿🏆
It all starts on Friday at the Final Draw.
Visit https://t.co/zJTWWlvUsi to find out where you can watch the Draw in your territory. pic.twitter.com/Dg3ZGEwl1B
– FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 3, 2025
Spain has already qualified directly for the tournament and will not play an official match again until the World Cup. Their performance in the group stage will be crucial to advance confidently in the competition. Although the Spanish coach does not like to admit it, it is clear that ‘La Roja’ will be one of the clear favorites to lift the title.
How the draw will be conducted and what rules apply
The format of the draw reflects the new structure of 48 teams, which will be grouped into 12 groups of four teams (Groups A to L). The process will respect the usual rules, but adapted to the new configuration.
Regarding the seedings, the 12 teams in Draw 1 (including the hosts) will be the first to be drawn to occupy the first position in each group (Group A1, B1, C1… L1)”.
The groups will then be completed with the teams from Rounds 2, 3 and 4, always respecting geographical restrictions. As confirmed by the organization, “no group may contain more than one team from the same confederation, with the exception of UEFA, which may have up to a maximum of two teams in the same group“.
The World Cup fixture list: key dates of the tournament
The 2026 World Cup Draw will not only define the composition of the groups, but also the complete match schedule, which will take place over 39 days, with a total of 104 matches.
The official dates are as follows:
- Kickoff: The opening match is scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2026 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
- The group stage will be played from June 11 to 27, followed by the knockout rounds, which will begin with the round of 16 from June 28.
- The semifinals are scheduled for mid-July, while the third-place match will be played on Saturday, July 18.
- The grand final will be held on Sunday, July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA.
Worldwide expectation for an unprecedented format
This edition of the World Cup will mark a historic milestone with its expanded format, and this Friday’s draw will be the first major pre-tournament event. Global attention will be focused on how the groups will be structured and in which part of the draw the big favorites will be placed.
The day will be particularly important for Spain, which is looking to repeat its 2010 success and whose initial performance could depend to a large extent on the draw. As noted, a good first phase will be key to getting off to a good start in the competition. This will depend, among other things, on the level of the opponents Spain will have to face in the group stage.
With the broadcast confirmed, the schedules set and the draws defined, the 2026 World Cup Draw is presented as the first major event of next year’s most anticipated tournament.
