Pulses are racing high as the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw is coming closer; the mega event is all set to take place today from 10.30 pm (IST). This year's draw for the World Cup will be the most interesting one as 48 teams are going to participate in the World Cup for the first time. There will be 12 groups with 4 teams in each. The USA, Mexico, and Canada will host the upcoming World Cup jointly.
The whole event is expected to last for two hours, and it will include the draw, live performances, and more. The mega event will be on stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
When and where to watch in India?
Unfortunately, no Indian television channels will broadcast the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw live. However, fans in India can watch the live streaming of the draw on the FIFA+ app and through the official FIFA World Cup social media accounts.
Pots of the FIFA World Cup Draw
Pot 1- Pot 1 features the host nations, Mexico, Canada, and the United States, as well as the world's top-ranked national teams. The remaining teams in Pot 1 are: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Pot 2 - Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia
Pot 3- Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, South Africa
Pot 4 - Jordan, Cape Verde, Curacao, Ghana, Haiti, New Zealand, and four European playoff winners, along with two FIFA playoff inter-confederation playoff winners.
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Tournament format
Each club will play three matches during the group stages. The top two teams from each group will advance directly to the knockout stage, followed by the eight best third-place teams in an extended round of 32.
Teams will not know the schedule right now
FIFA has made it confirmed that the teams will not immediately know the exact dates, times, or venues of their matches. A live broadcast will happen on Saturday to launch the World Cup schedule on Saturday, 6th December.
Confirming this, FIFA provided a statement which reads, “During the live broadcast, the venues and kick-off times for all 104 matches will be confirmed. The broadcast will be carried live across FIFA platforms, including FIFA.com and FIFA’s YouTube channel, ensuring that fans across the globe can follow the announcements in real time. A live broadcast feed will also be made available to broadcasters worldwide. “
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Adding to this, FIFA also said,“ The match allocation process that follows the draw aims to ensure the best possible conditions for all teams and spectators while, where possible, enabling fans all over the world to watch their teams play live across different time zones. The final version of the match schedule will be available in March, once the FIFA and European playoffs have taken place and the final six slots have been filled.”
As per sources, the schedule reveal event will be telecast exactly 24 hours after the draw.
