2026 FIFA World Cup groups Revealed: USA drawn with Uruguay, Iran, and a Playoff Winner
WASHINGTON D.C. – Teh stage is set for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup as the official draw concluded today, revealing the group assignments for the expanded 48-team tournament. The United States national team landed in Group C, facing a challenging path alongside Uruguay, Iran, and a yet-to-be-steadfast team emerging from a playoff in March. This marks the first time the tournament will be jointly hosted by three nations: the U.S., canada, and Mexico.
The draw, held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is a pivotal moment for participating nations, outlining their initial journeys toward lifting the coveted trophy. With the tournament’s expansion,the group stage format and qualification pathways have evolved,increasing opportunities for nations to compete on the world’s biggest stage – and raising the stakes for potential “Groups of Death.”
The 48 teams were divided into 12 groups of four, seeded across four pots based on FIFA rankings.Pot 1 featured the three host nations - the U.S., Canada, and Mexico – alongside top-ranked teams including Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.Subsequent pots included Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, austria, and australia (Pot 2); Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa (Pot 3); and Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New zealand, and the six remaining playoff winners (Pot 4).
To ensure competitive balance, teams from the same confederation generally cannot be placed in the same group, with the exception of UEFA (the European confederation) due to its large number of participating teams.Teams from Pot 1 were automatically placed as the top seed in their respective groups.
The group stage will employ a round-robin format, were each team plays every other team within their group. Following the completion of group play, the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, will advance to the knockout stage.
The knockout stage will be a single-elimination bracket consisting of the round of 32, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Final. A third-place match will also be contested between the losing teams of the Semifinals.
