The long-awaited day has arrived—the World Cup draw is finally here.

Friday’s draw will put an end to 24 hours of speculation and Group of Death nightmare scenarios. But more importantly, for the final time, there will be eight groups made up of four teams each. In the 2026 edition, the World Cup will expand to 48 teams, making this a truly special occasion. 

Only 29 of the 32 teams are known at the time of the draw, but the final three playoff matchups are all known. In one intercontinental playoff, Peru will face the winner of the United Arab Emirates vs. Australia AFC playoff; in the other, Costa Rica will face New Zealand. 

Meanwhile, Wales will face the winner of Ukraine vs. Scotland in the final European playoff. Each of those games will take place in June, and then the field will be truly complete. 

The World Cup pots have been determined by the latest FIFA World Cup rankings, with the top seven nations being placed in Pot 1 along with host nation Qatar. Teams from the same confederation cannot be placed in the same group with the exception of European teams (five groups will have two European teams).

Here are the draw pots:

Pot 1: Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal

Pot 2: Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland, USA, Croatia 

Pot 3: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, Korea Republic, Tunisia

Pot 4: Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, CONMEBOL-AFC playoff winner (Peru vs. UAE/Australia), Concacaf-Oceania playoff winner (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand), European playoff winner (Wales vs. Ukraine/Scotland)

GROUP A

Qatar

Ecuador

Senegal

Netherlands

Senegal and the Netherlands will likely be the favorites to advance from this group.

GROUP B

England

Iran

United States

European Playoff (Wales vs. Ukraine/Scotland)

The good news for the United States national team is that it avoids facing a top seed in the round of 16 (winner or runner up from Qatar’s group), if it can advance to the knockout stages. The bad news is that a potential matchup with Wales, ranked 18th in the FIFA world rankings, waits in the wings if Gareth Bale and co. can win its June playoff. Wales’s appearance would likely make this the Group of Death. 

GROUP C

Argentina

Saudi Arabia

Mexico

Poland

This is already turning out to be one of the most formidable groups, and a clear potential Group of Death candidate. Robert Lewandowski vs. Lionel Messi is sure to intrigue, while Mexico and Poland will be expected to fight over that second spot.

GROUP D

France

Intercontinental Playoff 1 (Peru vs. UAE/Australia)

Tunisia

Denmark

This looks good for defending World Cup champion France. It shared a group with Denmark in 2018 (as well as Peru and Australia). Tunisia was considered one of the weaker, if not the weakest, Pot 3 team. Will the World Cup winner curse strike again?

GROUP E

Spain

Intercontinental Playoff 2 (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand)

Germany

Japan

Spain and Germany also gives this Group of Death potential. And while it’s not Serbia or Senegal, Japan could arguably be one of the tougher Pot 3 teams. However, the addition of one of the intercontinental playoffs takes some of the spice away from this group. 

GROUP F

Belgium

Canada

Morocco

Croatia

Belgium were leapfrogged by Brazil for the top spot in the FIFA world rankings, but this group will do very nicely for the 2018 semifinalists. Despite its Pot 4 placing, Canada should also be excited about its chances with Croatia looking like its biggest rival for the other knockout spot. 

GROUP G

Brazil

Serbia

Switzerland

Cameroon

The pairings are quite uncanny considering that Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland also shared a group in 2018. Those three times will be expected to wrestle over the two knockout spots while Cameroon may be fighting an uphill battle.

GROUP H

Portugal

Ghana

Uruguay

Korea Republic

Portugal was the final team into Pot 1 but looks to have its hands full with Ghana coming out of Pot 4. Meanwhile, one must remember that a fiery Uruguayan side eliminated Portugal in the round of 16 in 2018.