For the playoff tournament teams, the confederation restrictions will be applied to all teams involved in the playoff, which would keep the host nations from drawing a team involved in the FIFA playoff tournament due to Jamaica and Suriname being involved as Concacaf teams.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The draw for the 2026 World Cup takes place Friday at the Kennedy Center, for the purpose of dividing the 48-team field into 12 groups of four. Once the tournament starts, 32 teams will advance from those preliminary groups to the single-elimination knockout rounds.

As another World Cup fast approaches, fans are gearing up to find out where their teams will fall in the overall competition bracket. A little peeking at the possibilities never hurt anyone.

Mauricio Pochettino will hope for a kind draw as USA attempts to go further than ever before at the World Cup.

We build up to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ final draw with a look at the teams coming from each confederation, with the European hopefuls in focus today.

The draw for the UEFA play-offs to reach the 2026 World Cup has been made in Zurich. Twelve group winners (Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Belgium, England and Croatia) have already booked their ticket to North America next summer - leaving four more places up for grabs.

UEFA qualifying for the 2026 World Cup is in its final stages, and Europe's nations are putting on a show as they aim to reach the tournament in North America.

The United States men's national team will learn its first three opponents at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.

Jesse Marsch’s team ended the 2024 international calendar ranked No. 26 in the world, a seed that would have seen them as a Pot 3 team in most World Cups. Yet, as hosts alongside the United States and Mexico, they were auto-placed in Group D and Pot 1, avoiding some of the world’s best teams.

After qualifying for their first World Cup in 40 years in 2022, Canada are hoping to make further strides as they play co-host at the 2026 tournament.

Germany will host the 2029 European Championship in women's soccer, promising record revenue and attendances to drive forward the game's development on and off the field. UEFA voted overwhelmingly Wednesday for the Germany bid in a three-candidate contest and opted for the promise of financial results and sporting potential with the national team playing in sold-out stadiums in Munich and Dortmund.