2026 World Cup draw outcomes: Which teams will USMNT compete against, and the breakdown of each group

FIFA World Cup Draw Approaches

The next chapter on the journey to the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place near the Kennedy Center along the Potomac River in Washington, DC.

Today, FIFA is set to hold the draw for the 2026 World Cup, organizing the 42 countries that have already qualified into groups for the upcoming tournament. A play-off tournament planned for March will determine the final six nations that will qualify, and they, too, will be placed into groups during today’s draw.

The three host nations—Mexico, Canada, and the United States—are already aware of their groups. According to the draw’s protocol, Mexico will be the first team in Group A, Canada occupies the first spot in Group B, and the United States will lead Group D.

The draw today will outline the potential teams that the United States may face in Group D. As we’ve mentioned earlier this week, there’s a scenario where the U.S. emerges as the top team in this group. Interestingly, currently ranked 14th in the world, the U.S. will see three additional teams joining them in Group D from Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4.

Pot 1 includes the three host nations alongside the top nine teams in the FIFA rankings. Pot 2 consists of the next twelve highest-ranked teams, which implies that some teams drawn into Group D from Pot 2 might be less ranked than the United States.

Pot 3 will contain the subsequent 12 teams, while Pot 4 encompasses six additional teams, along with the playoff spots.

However, there exists a scenario where Group D could turn into a so-called “Group of Death.” Just picture this: if Morocco, ranked 11th in the world, is drawn from Pot 2, and then Norway, the top team in Pot 3 at 29th place, is added, along with the winner of the UEFA Playoffs A from Pot 4, it could get pretty intense.

Italy, sitting at 12th in the world rankings, is anticipated to come out on top in the UEFA Playoffs A.

This would definitely be a less-than-ideal scenario for the United States today.

So, how will everything shake out? We’ll be following the draw live today, which is set to kick off at 12pm ET on FOX.

Keep an eye out for the complete brackets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be filled in once teams are assigned to their respective groups. The numbers in parentheses represent the current FIFA rankings.