Zurich: FIFA has finalized the procedures for the draw for the 2026 World Cup, confirming South Korea's place in the second-highest pot. Football's global governing body announced the draw process to determine the composition of the tournament's 12 groups, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico preparing to host the first 48-team World Cup next summer.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the draw is scheduled for noon on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, or 2 a.m. on Dec. 6 (South Korean time). The three co-hosts will end up in Pot 1 and will be joined by the top nine qualified countries based on the latest FIFA rankings announced last week. These countries are Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Teams in the same pot will not face each other in the group stage, allowing South Korea to avoid top-20 nations such as Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, and Japan, who recently upset No. 5 Brazil. Two teams from the same confederation cannot be placed in the same group, except for Europe, which can have up to two nations drawn together.
FIFA also confirmed that the four winners of the European playoffs and the two winners of the inter-confederation playoffs will be placed into Pot 4, regardless of their ranking positions. This setup could create multiple "groups of death," as world No. 12 Italy and No. 21 Denmark could end up in Pot 4 out of their European playoffs to join World Cup debutants Jordan, Cabo Verde, and Curacao, all ranked outside the top 50.
Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. Pot 4 will consist of Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, the four European playoff winners, and the two inter-confederation playoff winners.
FIFA aims to ensure a competitive balance by placing No. 1 Spain and No. 2 Argentina on opposite sides of the knockout bracket, should they both qualify, so that they will only meet in the final. South Korea, ranked No. 22, will be in Pot 2, alongside Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia. South Korea will be playing in their 11th consecutive World Cup, having reached the knockouts in 2002, 2010, and 2022, with their best performance being the semifinals in 2002.