Following weeks of politically charged anticipation surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw, attention quickly turned to football as the participating teams’ fates were revealed in Washington, DC.

The event, held at the Kennedy Center on Friday, was attended by the leaders of the three co-host nations: US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded the US president the new FIFA Peace Prize, having been termed the favourite to receive it in the weeks since the award’s announcement in November.

However, for the 42 qualified teams, their officials and fans, it was the latter half of the event that carried more weight as the 12 tournament groups of four teams each were drawn.

The World Cup’s first game will be a throwback to 2010 when Mexico take on South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the 2010 edition’s tournament opener.

Football fans will hope the 2026 version’s opening goal matches the screamer scored by then-hosts South Africa’s Lawrence Tshabalala.

The 42 confirmed nations are:Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland.

Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Curacao, Panama, Haiti, USA, Mexico, Canada.

The tournament will be made up of one group-stage round and four knockout rounds before the final.

Unlike previous editions, the knockouts will begin with the round of 32, followed by the round of 16, the four quarterfinals and two semifinals.

All four teams in each of the 12 groups will play each other once.

At the end of the 68 group-stage matches, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups will qualify for the round of 32 and will be joined by the eight best third-place finishers.

The tournament begins on June 11, 2026 at the Mexico City Stadium, while the US will host the final at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19, 2026.

The full match schedule will be confirmed on Saturday, December 6, 2025.