2026 World Cup: Morocco drawn with Brazil, Algeria with Argentina

December 06, 2025 / 5:40 PM

Sharjah 24: The draw for the 2026 World Cup, held on Friday in Washington, D.C., has placed Arab teams in challenging groups for the tournament, which is scheduled to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next June.

FIFA conducted the draw for the 2026 World Cup on Friday, with the finals set to be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico next June.

The draw ceremony, held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, revealed tough groups for the participating Arab nations.

Group draw results

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, and the winner of Denmark vs. North Macedonia, and the Czech Republic vs. Ireland.
Group B: Canada, the winner of Italy vs. Northern Ireland, Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland.
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland.
Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of Turkey vs. Romania and Slovakia vs. Kosovo.
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador.
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, the winner of Ukraine vs. Sweden and Poland vs. Albania, and Tunisia.
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand.
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay.
Group I: France, Senegal, the winner of Iraq vs. Bolivia and Suriname, and Norway.
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
Group K: Portugal, the winner of DR Congo vs. New Caledonia, Jamaica, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.

48 teams to participate for the first time

The 2026 World Cup finals, running from June 11 to July 19, 2026, will feature 48 teams for the first time. The opening match between Mexico and South Africa will take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, while the final will be held at MetLife Stadium near New York. Sixteen stadiums will host matches (11 in the United States, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada).

The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the Round of 32.

Four teams from the European play-offs

Four additional teams will qualify from the European play-offs, featuring 16 teams: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and Wales.

World play-off competitions

Six teams will compete for the remaining two spots in the World Play-off Competitions: Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia, and Suriname.