2026 FIFA World Cup seeding

The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was held at 12:00 UTC−5 (EST) on December 5, 2025, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., United States. It set the stage for the round-robin group stage in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, where the World Cup will be played. The teams were divided into four pots of twelve, with one team selected from each pot to form a group.

As hosts, Mexico, Canada, and the United States were seeded. They took positions A1, B1, and D1, respectively, from Pot 1, where they were joined by the top nine qualified teams in the FIFA rankings. The countries occupying positions 13 to 24 on the ranking of the qualified teams were allocated to Pot 2, while the 25th to 36th best-ranked qualifiers were placed in Pot 3. Finally, Pot 4 included the qualified teams in positions 37 to 42, plus six placeholders — two for the winners of the inter-confederation playoffs, and four for the winners of the European playoffs. The final six teams to qualify will be determined in these playoffs scheduled March 26 and 31, 2026.

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