The official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has determined the group stage matchups for the expanded 48-team tournament. The event will kick off on June 11, 2026, with joint-hosts Mexico facing South Africa at Mexico City’s iconic Azteca Stadium the venue for the 1970 and 1986 finals.
South Africa returns to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, when they also opened the tournament against Mexico. Fellow hosts, the United States and Canada, will begin their campaigns the following day, on June 12, against Paraguay and the playoff winner, respectively.
The draw produced several compelling fixtures for the tournament’s giants:
Argentina: The defending champions were placed in a group with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
Brazil: The five-time winners will face 2022 semi-finalists Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland, who are returning to the finals for the first time since 1998.
France: The 2022 runners-up will open against Senegal, a rematch of Senegal’s famous upset over the then-holders in the 2002 tournament opener.
England: Drawn in a group with Croatia—who beat them in the 2018 semi-finals—Panama, and a playoff winner.
A new seeding system ensures that the world’s top four-ranked teams, Spain, Argentina, France, and England, cannot meet until the semi-finals, provided they win their groups. The 48 teams were divided into 12 groups of four, creating a 104-match schedule across 16 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, concluding with the final in New Jersey on July 19.
Teams outside the host nations’ groups will learn their specific match venues and kickoff times on Saturday, December 6, as FIFA finalises the schedule for global television markets. These details remain subject to adjustment in March 2026 after the final six playoff qualification spots are filled.
