Australia face hosts as FIFA World Cup groups revealed

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest football event in history with 48 nations competing to be crowned No.1.

Of the total number of nations set to descend upon host nations USA, Canada and Mexico next year, we know 43 nations confirmed to be taking part.

With a population of just 156,000, Curacao are the smallest country set to play at the event which runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

Incredibly, four-time World Cup winners Italy, a powerhouse of the world game, are yet to qualify. They will enter the European play-offs to battle it out for four spots up for grabs.

Below are the official groups, as drawn by FIFA.

GROUP A

• Mexico
• South Korea
• South Africa
• European Play-Off D (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia or Ireland)

GROUP B

• Canada
• Switzerland
• Qatar
• European Play-Off A (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina)

GROUP C

• Brazil
• Morocco
• Scotland
• Haiti

GROUP D

• United States
• Australia
• Paraguay
• European Play-Off C (Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo or Romania)

GROUP E

• Germany
• Ecuador
• Ivory Coast
• Curacao

GROUP F

• Netherlands
• Japan
• Tunisia
• European Play-Off B (Ukraine, Poland, Albania or Sweden)

GROUP G

• Belgium
• Iran
• Egypt
• New Zealand

GROUP H

• Spain
• Uruguay
• Saudi Arabia
• Cape Verde

GROUP I

• France
• Senegal
• Norway
• FIFA Playoff Tournament 2 (Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname)

GROUP J

• Argentina
• Austria
• Algeria
• Jordan

GROUP K

• Portugal
• Colombia
• Uzbekistan
• FIFA Playoff Tournament 1 (DR Congo, New Caledonia or Jamaica)

GROUP L

• England
• Croatia
• Panama
• Ghana

The final rundown of all 48 teams will be known by March 31, 2026.

Countries that have qualified:

Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico and USA

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

Oceania: New Zealand

Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Curacao, Panama, Haiti

FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw pots:

Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany

Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia

Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Play-Off A, B, C and D, FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1 and 2

Join Mark Bosnich and Max Rushden for a FIFA World Cup special edition on Saturday, December 6 from 7am AEDT on 1170, SEN Fanatic, SENQ and SENGC