When to watch the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw?
- Friday, Dec. 5, at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT).
Where to watch
- The FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw will air on YouTube, Fox and Peacock.
See more details
See more details
See more details
See more details
See more details
With just six months before the big kick-off, qualified teams will finally get to find out who they'll be playing in next summer's 2026 men's FIFA World Cup, with the draw taking place on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
The tournament will be hosted by three different nations for the first time -- the US, Canada and Mexico -- and marks the first World Cup in its new expanded format, with 48 teams set to compete.
As is usually the case with World Cup draws, the format is a fairly convoluted affair. The teams will be split into four pots of 12 -- with the three co-hosts and the top nine teams placed in Pot 1. From those pots, 12 groups of four are drawn, one from each pot with the caveat that, wherever possible, no group will have more than one team from the same confederation (with a small exception for European teams).
The event is set to be co-hosted by comedian Kevin Hart, supermodel Heidi Klum, and actor Danny Ramirez, with President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino both expected to be in attendance.
Before the draw itself, there will be performances from music stars Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and Trump's favorite '70s party band, The Village People. Following an inevitable rendition of YMCA, the draw will then take place, conducted by former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who'll be accompanied by broadcaster Samantha Johnson and an array of North American sports icons, including Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Shaquille O'Neal and Aaron Judge.
Lionel Messi's Argentina come into the tournament as defending champions following their triumph in Qatar in 2022, with European giants Spain and England seen as the main favorites for glory next summer.
The FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw takes place Friday at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. That makes it a 5 p.m. GMT start in the UK, while for Australian viewers, things get underway at 4 a.m. AEST on Saturday. The event will be shown live on YouTube globally, as well as Peacock, Fox and Fox One in the US. Here's everything you need to know to watch or stream the event without cable.
President Trump will be present for Friday's World Cup Draw.
Michael Regan/FIFA/Getty ImagesDon't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
How to watch the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw from anywhere in the world for free
Regardless of what country you find yourself in today, the draw for next summer's tournament will be available to watch globally for free on FIFA's official website as well as the FIFA YouTube channel.
There are, however, alternative options if you'd prefer to watch live coverage of the event from broadcasters in your region rather than FIFA's feed.
How to watch the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw in the US without cable
If you don't have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch Fox's coverage of the draw with the new Fox One streaming service or a live TV streaming service. All five major live TV streaming services offer Fox. Not every service carries every local network in every area, so be sure to check each service using the links below to make sure it carries Fox where you live.
Alternatively, the streaming service Peacock will also broadcast the event live.
Peacock currently offers three main subscription tiers: Select (a basic, limited tier for current NBC/Bravo shows & library for $8 per month), Premium (full library, movies, sports, originals with ads for ($11 per month), and Premium Plus (everything in Premium, but ad-free and with your local NBC channel for ($17 per month).
You can watch the draw with Fox's new direct-to-consumer streaming service costs $20 a month or $200 a year. You'll also get access to Fox's complete TV portfolio, including sports-related channels such as Fox Sports, B1G, FS1, FS2 and local Fox stations. Read our Fox One review.
Fubo's main package costs $85 per month but it has a new skinny bundle that includes Fox for The Game. This new Fubo Sports plan costs $56 per month ($46 for the first month) and also includes access to ESPN's new streaming app. Click here to see which local channels you get in your region with Fubo. Read our Fubo review.
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $83 a month and includes Fox. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under the "Can I watch local news in my area?" question at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get. Read our Hulu Plus Live TV review.
All of the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
How to livestream the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw in the UK
Free-to-air broadcasters BBC and ITV are sharing live duties for next year's tournament, with the BBC set to broadcast today's draw live. The game will be shown on both BBC Two and will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
You'll be able to watch the event online for free via the network's on-demand streaming service, BBC iPlayer.
With an app that's available for Android and Apple mobile devices, as well as a vast array of smart TVs and streaming boxes, all you need is a valid UK TV license to stream the game.
Livestream the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw in Canada
Canadian soccer fans can watch the draw on TSN and its streaming service, TSN Plus. Existing TSN cable subscribers can also watch at no extra charge using the details of their TV provider.
TSN Plus is a direct-streaming service that costs CA$8 a month and also offers coverage of PGA Tour Live golf, NFL games, F1, NASCAR and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
Livestream the 2026 World Cup Draw in Australia for free
SBS holds the exclusive Australian rights for next year's World Cup and will stream the draw live.
Viewers can livestream coverage on the free-to-use SBS On Demand service.
The platform has dedicated apps for Android and iOS, and you can also access the service on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV stick, Apple TV and most smart TVs.
When and where is the 2026 World Cup being held?
The 23rd FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held June 11 to July 19, 2026, with the tournament being hosted by three different nations for the first time -- the US, Canada and Mexico.
The tournament's opening match is scheduled for June 11 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with the eventual final game played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
Which teams are in the FIFA 2026 World Cup Draw?
The following 42 countries will be represented in today's draw:
• Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA
• AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
• CAF: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
• CONCACAF: Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
• CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
• OFC: New Zealand
• UEFA: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
Alongside the teams above that have already qualified for the tournament, there are also four places still to be decided from the UEFA qualifying playoffs, and two spots to be taken by teams involved in the intercontinental playoffs.
UEFA European playoff teams:
- Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey and Ukraine
- Pot 2: Poland, Wales, the Czech Republic and Slovakia
- Pot 3: Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo
- Pot 4: Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania and Sweden
Intercontinental playoff teams:
- AFC: Iraq
- CAF: Democratic Republic of the Congo
- CONMEBOL: Bolivia
- OFC: New Caledonia
- CONCACAF: Jamaica and Suriname