The group stage draw of the 2026 World Cup was done on December 5, with a host of entertaining matches lined upRecord champions Brazil will face 2022 semi-finalists Morocco, while France will play Senegal and Norway in the Group of Death42 teams have already confirmed their places, while six others will book their spots in the confederation play-offs in March next yearMexico will face South Africa in the opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the full group-stage draw was conducted on December 5.
USA, Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup. Photo credit: FIFA World Cup.
Source: TwitterThe game will be a repeat of the 2010 edition, the first and only time an African nation hosted the tournament, where Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the historic goal in a 1-1 draw.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was joined by world leaders like Donald Trump and the coaches of the national teams in the colourful ceremony at the Kennedy Centre.
The host countries’ presidents pulled out their countries before the draw assistants took centre stage to complete the draw. Mexico went into Group A as earlier anticipated, as they will be playing the opening match, while Canada took Group B, and the United States went into Group D.
The only condition for the draw was that teams from the same confederation could not face each other, except those from Europe.
Group A – Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Denmark/North Macedonia/Czech Republic/Ireland
Group B – Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Italy/Wales/Bosnia/Northern Ireland
Group C – Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D – USA, Australia, Paraguay, Turkiye/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo
Group E – Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
Group F – Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania
Group G – Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H – Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I – France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname
Group J – Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K – Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Democratic Republic of Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia
Group L – England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
The 2026 World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19. Photo credit: FIFA World Cup.
Source: TwitterLionel Scaloni previews Argentina’s groupSpeaking after the draw, Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni said it was not going to be easy to defend their title.
“There are no easy opponents, you have to play the matches. We have to give our best and try to advance. I was a bit nervous when the balls were coming out. There are no easy opponents; you have to play the matches. We don’t take anything for granted,” he said via Sofi Martinez.”Algeria is a strong team, they have a great youth system that feeds France and other countries. Austria had a great qualifying campaign and is a tough opponent. The most ‘unknown’ team is Jordan, but if they made it there, it must be for a reason.”USA announces priority visa interviews for World Cup fansWorld Cup ticket holders would have a FIFA pass to speed up their visa interviews.
There had been concerns that visa application processes would take up to one year, but in the new system, the process would be brought forward by six to eight weeks.
A ticket is however not a guarantee that the request would be accepted.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
