FIFA World Cup draw: What to expect and how the groups will be decided

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw on Friday marks the beginning of the journey for teams across the globe hoping to hoist the coveted golden trophy next summer. The drawing will occur at noon ET at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where FIFA President Gianni Infantino will decide by lottery which countries will play each other in the initial rounds of the tournament. Infantino will pull balls representing individual nations out of four pots holding 12 balls each to form the round robin groups that countries will compete within during the first leg of the competition. The top two teams from each group will advance to the final elimination tournament. The tournament is being jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada in a major first. U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claud