Forty-eight nations will compete across twelve groups of four
En Washington D.C., el 5 de diciembre, la FIFA dará forma al mayor torneo de fútbol de la historia moderna: por primera vez en casi treinta años, el Mundial amplía su horizonte de 32 a 48 selecciones. El sorteo en el Kennedy Center no es solo un acto ceremonial, sino el primer trazo de un nuevo orden deportivo donde doce grupos, cuatro bombos y reglas de distribución cuidadosamente diseñadas intentan equilibrar la grandeza del fútbol con la justicia competitiva. La humanidad del juego —su capacidad de reunir naciones distantes bajo una misma ilusión— se expresa ahora en una escala sin precedentes.
- Por primera vez desde 1998, el Mundial rompe su molde: 48 selecciones reemplazan a las 32 tradicionales, redibujando por completo la arquitectura del torneo.
- La tensión del sorteo reside en quién comparte grupo con quién: las reglas de confederación y la separación de los cuatro grandes —España, Argentina, Francia e Inglaterra— buscan evitar que los mejores se eliminen demasiado pronto.
- Cuatro bombos ordenados por el ranking FIFA de noviembre distribuirán a las naciones entre doce grupos, con la excepción calculada de permitir hasta dos equipos europeos por grupo ante la magnitud del continente.
- El torneo se extenderá del 11 de junio al 19 de julio de 2026 en tres países, con 104 partidos en total y un campeón que deberá ganar ocho encuentros para alzar la copa.
- Al día siguiente del sorteo, la FIFA publicará el calendario completo con sedes y horarios, dando al mundo su primera imagen concreta de cómo se vivirá este Mundial reinventado.
El 5 de diciembre, la FIFA se reúne en el Kennedy Center de Washington D.C. para sortear los grupos del Mundial 2026, un evento que marca el inicio de una transformación histórica: por primera vez en casi tres décadas, el torneo se expande de 32 a 48 selecciones, organizadas en doce grupos de cuatro equipos.
El sistema de distribución está construido sobre cuatro bombos definidos por el ranking FIFA de noviembre. El primero reúne a los tres anfitriones —México, Canadá y Estados Unidos— junto a los nueve mejores del mundo: España, Argentina, Francia, Inglaterra, Brasil, Portugal, Países Bajos, Bélgica y Alemania. Los bombos siguientes agrupan al resto de clasificados, desde potencias como Croacia, Colombia y Japón hasta selecciones emergentes como Uzbekistán, Curazao y Haití. Seis plazas del bombo cuatro aún dependen de repechajes pendientes.
Las reglas del sorteo son estrictas: ninguna confederación puede tener más de un representante por grupo, salvo Europa, que por su volumen —dieciséis equipos— puede colocar hasta dos selecciones en el mismo grupo. Además, España, Argentina, Francia e Inglaterra serán ubicadas en lados opuestos del cuadro, garantizando que solo puedan cruzarse en semifinales si avanzan como líderes de grupo.
El torneo se disputará entre el 11 de junio y el 19 de julio de 2026 en Estados Unidos, México y Canadá. El partido inaugural será en el Estadio Azteca y la final en el MetLife Stadium de Nueva Jersey. Con 104 partidos en total y ocho victorias necesarias para ser campeón, el día después del sorteo la FIFA publicará el calendario completo, ofreciendo al mundo su primera visión real de este Mundial reinventado.
On December 5th, FIFA will gather at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to draw the brackets for the 2026 World Cup—an event that will reshape how the sport's largest tournament is organized. For the first time in nearly three decades, the World Cup will expand beyond 32 teams. Forty-eight nations will compete across twelve groups of four, a structural shift that fundamentally changes how the tournament flows from opening match to final whistle.
The draw itself will follow a carefully engineered system designed to balance competitive fairness with geographic representation. Teams have been sorted into four separate pots, each determined by their FIFA ranking as of November. The first pot holds the three host nations—Mexico, Canada, and the United States—alongside the nine highest-ranked teams in the world: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. These twelve teams form the tournament's backbone, the sides expected to advance deepest into the competition.
The remaining pots contain the next tier of contenders and emerging football nations. Pot two includes Croacia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia. Pot three brings together Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. The fourth and final pot will be completed by seven teams: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, and six additional nations that will emerge from European and intercontinental playoff matches still to be determined.
The rules governing how these teams are distributed across the twelve groups are strict and deliberately constructed. No two nations from the same continental confederation can share a group—with one significant exception. Europe, which will send sixteen teams to the tournament, is permitted to place up to two European sides in the same group. This exception acknowledges the depth of European football while maintaining competitive balance elsewhere. Beyond confederation rules, FIFA has implemented one more safeguard: the four top-ranked teams—Spain, Argentina, France, and England—will be positioned on opposite sides of the bracket. This placement ensures that if these powerhouses advance as group winners, they cannot meet each other until the semifinal stage.
The tournament itself will unfold across three nations from June 11 through July 19, 2026. The opening match will be played at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, while the final will take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In total, 104 matches will be contested—four more than the traditional 32-team format produced. The champion will play eight games instead of the usual seven, a consequence of the expanded group stage and the new structure's mathematical demands.
Once the draw concludes on December 5th, FIFA will release the complete match schedule the following day, specifying venues and kickoff times for every fixture. The announcement will give teams, broadcasters, and fans their first concrete picture of how the tournament will unfold. For the first time in World Cup history, the competition will operate under this 48-team framework, making the draw not merely a ceremonial moment but the beginning of a fundamentally reimagined tournament.
Citações Notáveis
No two nations from the same continental confederation can share a group, except Europe, which may place up to two European teams together— FIFA tournament rules
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why expand to 48 teams now? What problem does this solve?
It opens the tournament to more nations and more revenue. Forty-eight teams means more matches, more broadcasting rights, more ticket sales. It also gives smaller confederations a genuine shot at qualification—teams that would never have made it under the old 32-team system.
But doesn't that dilute the quality? Won't we see blowouts?
Possibly, yes. That's the trade-off. But the group format—four teams per group instead of four in a group of four—means every team plays three matches. No one is eliminated after two games. The structure is designed to keep more teams alive longer.
Why does Europe get special treatment? Two European teams in one group?
Because Europe has sixteen qualified teams. If you strictly enforce the one-per-confederation rule, you can't fit them all. Europe's depth is real—there are genuinely sixteen competitive European sides. The rule bends to accommodate that reality.
And those top four teams on opposite sides of the bracket—that's about protecting them?
It's about protecting the spectacle. If Spain, Argentina, France, and England all meet in the quarterfinals, you lose the narrative tension. By keeping them apart until the semis, you ensure that at least two of them will face each other late, when the stakes are highest.
What happens to the teams that don't make the playoffs yet—the ones in the fourth pot?
They're still fighting in intercontinental and European qualifying matches. Six of those spots won't be filled until next year. The draw will happen before those matches conclude, which means some seats in pot four are placeholders. It's a logistical puzzle.
So when fans watch the draw on December 5th, they won't know the complete picture?
Correct. They'll see the structure, the seeding, the rules. But six teams will be unknown. It's unusual, but it's the only way to make the timing work.