The much anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 draw took place on Friday in a ceremony held in Washington DC.
During the US-hosted event which unveiled the fate of participating nations, leaders of co-host countries President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum were in attendance.
Following the decision of FIFA to up the number of participating countries from 32 to 48 in one of the major procedural changes in many years, African teams which will take part in this tournament reached nine.
These African teams are the following:
- Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
South Africa in group A
- Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, plus one of Denmark, Macedonia, Czechia or Ireland
Morocco in group C
- Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Cote D’Ivoire in group E
- Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
Tunisia in group F
- Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, plus one of Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania
Egypt in group G
- Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Cape Verde in group H
- Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Senegal in group I
- France, Senegal, Norway, plus one of Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname
Algeria in group J
- Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Ghana in group L
- England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
The US, Canada and Mexico co-host the tournament, which spans from July 11 to 19, 2026.
According to several reports, the tournament will begin at the Mexico City Stadium in Mexico, and the US will host the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The South American country Argentina, whose name is synonymous with football clutched the FIFA World Cup 2022, which was hosted in a Middle Eastern country Qatar.
Format of the FIFA World Cup 2026
The tournament will be made up of one group-stage round and four knockout rounds before the final.
Unlike previous editions, the knockouts will begin with the round of 32, followed by the round of 16, the four quarterfinals and two semifinals.
