Published by
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
By Andrew Gastelum The November World Cup will be the last with 32 nations before it expands to 48 teams for 2026. The long-awaited day has arrived—the World Cup draw is finally here. Friday’s draw will put an end to 24 hours of speculation and Group of Death nightmare scenarios. But more importantly, for the final time, there will be eight groups made up of four teams each. In the 2026 edition, the World Cup will expand to 48 teams, making this a truly special occasion. Only 29 of the 32 teams are known at the time of the draw, but the final three playoff matchups are all known. In one interc…