Watch all 104 games of the FIFA World Cup 26™ LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
- How has FIFA World Cup Finals qualification altered?
- How will the new FIFA World Cup draw work?
- When is the FIFA World Cup 26™ final draw?
The FIFA World Cup 26™ is on the horizon, and the tournament, which is set to be held in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico, will bring a host of firsts. SBS will again be the exclusive Australian broadcaster for the world's biggest sporting event as well as the final draw on the morning of Saturday, December 6 (AEDT).
The changes to FIFA World Cup qualification
An expansion to 48 nations for the FIFA World Cup 26™ from the current structure of 32 teams will see growth beyond the normal countries seen at the tournament.
The increase to the number of teams has meant each region has seen an increase in their quota of nations that qualify for the FIFA World Cup™.
- Asia: 8 (+4 compared to 2022)
- Africa: 9 (+4)
- North, Central America and Caribbean: 6 (+3)
- Europe: 16 (+3)
- South America: 6 (+2)
- Oceania: 1 (+1)
18 out of 48 nations have already qualified for the tournament; Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Paraguay, Tunisia, United States of America, Uruguay and Uzbekistan.
By the time of the draw in December, this number will increase to 42, as the four winners of the UEFA playoffs and the two winners of the inter-confederation playoffs will not be known until these matches take place in March 2026.
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How will the FIFA World Cup draw work?
The 48 eligible teams will be divided into four "pots" according to their FIFA rankings. The three host nations are automatically placed in Pot 1 and pre-drawn into specific groups, while the remaining teams will be assigned a pot according to their FIFA ranking at the time of the draw.
Since the intercontinental playoff qualifiers will not be determined by the time of the draw, both teams from the playoffs will automatically be placed in Pot 4, regardless of their FIFA ranking.
One team from each pot will be placed into every group to ensure competitive balance. Rather than the previous format of having eight groups of four teams, the 2026 draw will create 12 groups of four teams each.
The Socceroos, who are currently ranked 25th in the world, will have a better idea of their pot allocation with the release of the next FIFA Men's World Ranking on October 23.
As the hosts, Mexico will automatically be placed in Group A, Canada in Group B, and the USA in Group D.
No countries from the same confederation can be drawn into the same group, with the exception of UEFA, which will be restricted to two teams per group.
At the tournament's group stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32, in addition to eight of the 12 best performing third-ranked nations.
When is the FIFA World Cup draw?
The FIFA World Cup 26™ Final Draw will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC on 5 December (6 December AEDT).
President of the United States and Chairman of the Kennedy Center, Donald J. Trump, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the White House will announce the draw for the FIFA World Cup 26™ with team officials, ambassadors, fans representing the tournament’s Host Cities and global media representatives, amongst others, to unite for one of the significant milestones leading into the tournament.
Audiences in Australia can watch the FIFA World Cup 26™ Final Draw live from 4am AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand, with a replay of the event leading into the Australia Championship Final later that evening on December 6.
In addition to all matches being livestreamed on SBS On Demand, you can catch up with news, interviews and the build up to the tournament on the SBS Sport FIFA World Cup 26™ Hub.
