(L-R) Fifa President Gianni Infantino, US President Donald Trump, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney hold cards on stage during the draw for the 2026 FIFA Football World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico, at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC. AFP
The draw:
Group A: Mexico - South Africa - South Korea - (UEFA Playoff D)
Group B: Canada - (UEFA Playoff A) - Qatar - Switzerland
Group C: Brazil - Morocco - Haiti - Scotland
Group D: USA - Paraguay - Australia - (UEFA Playoff C)
Group E: Germany - Curaçao - Côte d'Ivoire - Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands - Japan - (UEFA Playoff B) - Tunisia
Group G: Belgium - Egypt - Iran - New Zealand
Group H: Spain - Cape Verde - Saudi Arabia - Uruguay
Group I: France - Senegal - (FIFA Playoff 2) - Norway
Group J: Argentina - Algeria - Austria - Jordan
Group K: Portugal - (FIFA Playoff 1) - Uzbekistan - Colombia
Group L: England - Croatia - Ghana - Panama
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20:05 Singer Lauryn Hill is on stage performing a medley.
19:48 US President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada's PM Mark Carney are set to draw the World Cup.
19:37 US President Donald Trump is awarded the inagural FIFA Peace Prize.
19:22 Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger are on stage now to performing the new World Cup anthem.
19:00 ِAndrea Bocelli inaugurates the ceremony
Italian Tenor Classical musician Andrea Bocelli performs on stage during the draw for the 2026 FIFA Football World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico, at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC. AFP
18:30 US President Donald Trump arrives to attend the event alongside FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.
U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters as he arrives on the red carpet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. AFP
18:00 Several high profile athletes have are on stage to attend the ceremony including former Brazil striker Ronaldo, iconic retired NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal and former American football quarterback Elie Manning.
Ronaldo and Kaka, FIFA legends pose on the red carpet prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. AFP
16:00 Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and football director Ibrahim Hassan are in Washington, alongside Egyptian Football Association vice-president, Khaled El Darandaly, to attend the draw.
Stay tuned as the draw is due to start at 19:00 Cairo time (GMT+2) at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The 48 nations involved in the 2026 World Cup, 42 of which are currently known, will be drawn into 12 groups of four. Six additional spots will be filled by winners of the intercontinental and European playoffs.
Pots for the 2026 World Cup Draw:
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA Play-off A Winner, UEFA Play-off B Winner, UEFA Play-off C Winner, UEFA Play-off D Winner, IC Play-off 1 Winner, IC Play-off 2 Winner
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