World Cup 2026 Groups: All 12 Groups From A to L, Drawn

The 2026 FIFA World Cup final draw took place on December 5, 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., splitting all 48 nations into 12 groups for the first 48-team edition of the tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19. With 104 matches packed into 16 host cities, the group stage is bigger than any World Cup before it, and the full bracket sets up some heavyweight first-round clashes.

Here is the complete draw. Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia. Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland. Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland. Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye. Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador. Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia. Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand. Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay. Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway. Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan. Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia. Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama.

The consensus group of death is Group I, where world number one France meet Senegal and a Norway side built around Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, with Iraq completing the toughest set on paper. France, one of our model's leading title contenders, carry those odds into a group that could send a genuine contender home early. Group D is another minefield, pairing the co-hosting United States with Paraguay, Australia and a dangerous Türkiye, while Group K throws Portugal and Colombia together in a fight nobody wanted in the same four.

The new format changes the math of survival. In each group the top two teams automatically advance, and the eight best third-placed teams across all 12 groups join them, expanding the knockout phase to a round of 32 before the bracket narrows toward the final in New Jersey. That safety net rewards consistency: a third-place finish that would have meant elimination in past tournaments can now keep a team alive, which is exactly why a side like Norway or Uruguay can afford one slip and still go through.

With favourites Spain and Argentina, the model's two strongest title picks, handed kinder draws than France, the path to the title looks very different depending on where you landed. See how our AI rates every team's chances in our World Cup 2026 predictions, then run any group fixture yourself in the match simulator to see who escapes the group of death and who sneaks through as a best third-placed side.