On Friday, 5 December 2025, the entire football world will look to Washington D.C. In the U.S. capital, the groups for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will be drawn. Which groups – from seemingly easy to potentially extremely tough – could Germany end up in?
In addition to Germany, which qualified for the World Cup with a 6:0 victory over direct rivals Slovakia in Leipzig in the final group match, Scotland—who defeated Denmark 4:2 in Glasgow in a direct duel thanks to two stoppage-time goals including a quasi empty-net goal—and Austria, who can celebrate a World Cup participation again after 28 years, also qualified.
42 countries have already qualified. Among them are the Austrians, who secured their spot with a hard-fought 1:1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna, ending their drought since 1998. “I will never forget the final whistle,” said Bremen professional Marco Friedl in an interview with the Vienna Kronen-Zeitung (23 November 2025 edition) about this moment of joy. “Everyone was running all over the place. These are moments you simply cannot buy.”
Not buy, no. But experience live! The World Cup captivates people across the globe – already during qualification. In November, 45,000 fans celebrated in the streets of Oslo despite the bitter cold as Norway qualified for its first World Cup since 1998. Goal machine Erling Braut Haaland of Manchester City had already promised beforehand: “If we qualify, it will be the biggest party of all time.” The former BVB and Salzburg powerhouse delivered: Haaland scored 16 goals on the road to the World Cup, including two in the 4:1 win against Italy in Milan.
Four-time world champion Italy must fight for its ticket through the playoffs in March 2026, as does the Czech Republic, which will face Ireland.
The Irish produced the craziest group finale – winning 3:2 after trailing 1:2 late in the direct duel against Hungary in Budapest. Troy Parrott of AZ Alkmaar scored a hat-trick to become the new Irish national hero and – at least for a day – the namesake of Dublin Airport. The jubilant images of Irish fans around the world became viral hits.
World Cup fever worldwide: “We’ll be in the Panini sticker album”
Iceland will not be there in 2026. The Icelanders were replaced by Curaçao (156,000 inhabitants) as the smallest World Cup participant country of all time. “We’re going to the World Cup and will soon be in the Panini sticker album,” rejoiced Curaçao’s Livano Comencencia from FC Zürich, who scored in the decisive 2:0 win over Jamaica in CONCACAF qualifying.
So much for the excitement this World Cup has already generated during qualification.
Leipzig, 17 November 2025: Germany and Nick Woltemade storm to the 2026 World Cup with a 6:0 win over Slovakia. Photo: Imago Images / Eibner
When is the 2026 World Cup draw?
So how does the World Cup draw work? On Friday, 5 December 2025, at 18:00 German time, the groups will be drawn at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington.
2026 World Cup seeding pots – Which pot is Germany in?
Germany ended up in Pot 1 for this draw, together with the three host nations Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as European champions Spain, defending champions Argentina, runners-up France, England, record world champions Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia.
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Pot 4 contains teams already qualified as well as teams still in the playoffs. These are: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA Playoff A (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina), UEFA Playoff B (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Albania), UEFA Playoff C (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Kosovo), UEFA Playoff D (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Ireland), FIFA Playoff 1 (New Caledonia, Jamaica, Democratic Republic of the Congo), FIFA Playoff 2 (Bolivia, Suriname, Iraq).
2026 World Cup Germany group: Which opponents are possible?
Which group constellation could be the most favourable for Germany, and which the most difficult (on paper)?
The myth of Germany’s World Cup draw luck has been seriously damaged after the last two tournaments in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar, where they were eliminated in seemingly easy groups with Sweden, Mexico and South Korea, and with Spain, Costa Rica and Japan respectively.
Argentina, Spain, England or the three host nations are not possible group opponents for Germany, but traditionally strong and unpredictable teams from South America like Uruguay and Colombia certainly are.
From Pot 3, Germany could draw Norway with Haaland, or Egypt with “The Pharaoh” Mohamed Salah of Liverpool FC.
Uruguay, Ivory Coast and Italy are also possible.
Why? Because Italy, as a playoff participant placed in Pot 4, is also a possible opponent! The tabloids would surely call that group another “group of death”…
But it could also be easier for Germany – for example in a group with Australia, Uzbekistan and New Zealand.
A group with Iran, Tunisia and Haiti would also be considered “manageable”.
2026 World Cup draw schedule: 11 possible opponents for Mexico in the opening match
What is already certain: Mexico, as part of Group A, will play the opening match at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City against Norway, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or South Africa.
It is also clear that Canada will play in Group B and the USA in Group D.
2026 World Cup draw groups: Restrictions and exceptions
As always, there are several special rules and restrictions for the World Cup draw.
In the twelve (!) groups of four, only one team per confederation may play.
An exception applies to the 16 UEFA teams, of which up to two per group are allowed.
The restrictions also apply to the two FIFA playoffs, which significantly limits the assignment of placeholders. FIFA Playoff 1 includes teams from Oceania, North America and Africa. FIFA Playoff 2 includes teams from South America, North America and Asia. An example: If Germany were to draw South Africa from Pot 3, FIFA Playoff 1 would no longer be possible because the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also an African team.
The placeholders for the UEFA playoffs are logically treated as European teams. For Germany, Pot 4 therefore also contains the potentially difficult draws of Italy or Turkey, should these teams qualify via the playoffs.
What does event-breaks.com offer for the 2026 World Cup?
First of all: Our travel packages do not include tickets for World Cup matches. Upon request, however, we can put you in contact with third-party providers. Ticket purchases are made exclusively through external sellers, independently of our travel packages.
Der Autor: Carsten Germann berichtet seit 2002 aus erster Hand über den englischen Fußball, u. a. für DIE WELT, BILD am SONNTAG und seit April 2021 auch als leitender Redakteur beim Portal Fussballdaten.de. Zudem gab er mit den Büchern Football’s home (2007) und Absolute Dynamite! (2010) zwei Sammelbände mit seinen Fußball-Reiseerlebnissen aus Großbritannien heraus. Für DIE FUSSBALLREISE schreibt er regelmäßig über den Insel-Kick.