If we want to be world champions, we have to be ready to play the best.
En Washington, ante la mirada del mundo, el fútbol y la política se entrelazaron una vez más cuando la FIFA sorteó los grupos de un Mundial que, por primera vez en su historia, reunirá a 48 selecciones. El 5 de diciembre de 2025, en el Kennedy Center, se trazaron los caminos que conducirán a 48 naciones hacia el verano de 2026, con España como cabeza de serie y con la sombra diplomática de Trump, Sheinbaum y Carney proyectándose sobre una ceremonia diseñada tanto para la televisión como para la historia. El deporte más universal volvió a demostrar que sus rituales nunca son solo deportivos: son también espejos en los que las naciones se miden, se evitan y, a veces, se reconcilian.
- Por primera vez, 48 selecciones disputarán un Mundial estructurado en 12 grupos, añadiendo una ronda de dieciséis equipos y elevando el total de partidos a 104, lo que transforma radicalmente el ritmo y la lógica del torneo.
- España llega como primera cabeza de serie, pero en el Bombo 2 acechan rivales que ya le han hecho daño: Marruecos la eliminó en Qatar 2022, Colombia la venció en un amistoso reciente, y Ecuador llega como subcampeón sudamericano.
- Trump, Sheinbaum y Carney compartieron escenario en un acto cargado de tensión diplomática no resuelta, convirtiendo el sorteo en una herramienta de imagen política en medio de fricciones entre los tres países anfitriones.
- Organizaciones de derechos civiles alzaron la voz durante la ceremonia, señalando la contradicción de celebrar un torneo global en un país con políticas migratorias cada vez más restrictivas.
- El sorteo dejó abiertas las peores pesadillas de España: Italia, si supera los playoffs europeos, y Noruega con Haaland o Escocia —el último equipo en derrotarla en partido oficial— esperan en botes posteriores.
Washington fue el escenario elegido por la FIFA para rediseñar el fútbol mundial. El 5 de diciembre, en el Kennedy Center, 48 selecciones conocieron sus rivales de grupo para el Mundial de 2026, que se disputará entre Estados Unidos, México y Canadá a partir del 11 de junio. Es la primera vez que el torneo supera los 32 equipos: doce grupos de cuatro, con los dos primeros y los ocho mejores terceros clasificados avanzando a una nueva ronda de dieciséis. En total, 104 partidos, cuarenta más que en Qatar.
Pero el sorteo fue también un acto político. Trump y Melania asistieron a la ceremonia junto a la presidenta mexicana Claudia Sheinbaum —en su primera visita oficial a Estados Unidos— y el primer ministro canadiense Mark Carney, cuya confirmación de última hora fue leída como un gesto diplomático. El espectáculo fue diseñado para la televisión global: presentadores, actuaciones de Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams y Nicole Scherzinger, y los Village People cerrando con 'YMCA'. Los estadios, fechas y horarios concretos se anunciarían al día siguiente.
En lo deportivo, España entró como primera cabeza de serie, protegida de las grandes potencias en la fase de grupos. Sin embargo, el Bombo 2 concentra amenazas reales: Marruecos, que la eliminó en 2022; Colombia, que la venció recientemente; y Ecuador, subcampeón sudamericano. En botes posteriores aguardan Noruega con Haaland, Escocia —último equipo en ganarle en partido oficial— e Italia como peor escenario posible si supera los playoffs. Rafael Louzán, presidente de la federación española, respondió con determinación: quien quiera ser campeón del mundo debe estar preparado para enfrentarse a cualquiera.
La sombra política no abandonó la ceremonia. La FIFA anunció un recién creado Premio a la Paz, con especulaciones sobre si Trump podría recibirlo, mientras organizaciones de derechos civiles denunciaban la paradoja de un torneo universal celebrado en un país con políticas migratorias que generan incertidumbre para los visitantes internacionales. El sorteo, en definitiva, cumplió una doble función: distribuir rivales y medir hasta qué punto el fútbol y la política han dejado de ser mundos separados.
Washington is hosting a draw that will reshape how the World Cup works. On Friday, December 5th, FIFA pulled the names of 48 nations from ceremonial pots at the John F. Kennedy Center, determining which teams would face each other when the tournament kicks off on June 11, 2026, across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This is the first World Cup to expand beyond 32 teams, and the structural changes run deep: twelve groups of four teams instead of eight groups of four, with the top two finishers and eight best third-place teams advancing to a new round-of-16 stage. The total tournament swells to 104 matches—forty more than the last World Cup in Qatar.
But the draw was never just about soccer. Donald Trump attended with his wife Melania, using the global platform to burnish his image while attempting to smooth relations with Mexico and Canada, his co-hosts, after months of public friction. Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, made her first official visit to the United States since taking office to be there. Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, confirmed his attendance at the last moment, a gesture weighted with diplomatic significance. The ceremony itself was engineered as television spectacle rather than traditional sporting ritual: Rio Ferdinand and Samantha Johnson hosted the draw while Heidi Klum, Kevin Hart, and Danny Ramírez presented. Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, and Nicole Scherzinger performed. Village People closed the show with "YMCA." The actual match schedule—stadiums, dates, times—would come later, on Saturday, after FIFA worked through the logistical constraints.
The draw mechanics reflected a tournament designed to balance competition with geography. The twelve pots were seeded by FIFA rankings as of November 19, with crucial rules layered on top. No group could contain two teams from the same confederation, except UEFA, which sent sixteen teams and forced some flexibility. Spain and Argentina, ranked first and second globally, were placed in opposite halves of the draw to ensure they could only meet in a final. France and England, third and fourth, received the same treatment. The three host nations—the United States, Mexico, and Canada—were guaranteed spots in groups A, B, and D respectively, ensuring they would play their group matches at home. Their balls were color-coded during the draw: green for Mexico, red for Canada, blue for the United States.
Spain entered as the top seed in Pot 1, a position that shields them from most of the world's elite in the group stage. But the remaining pots held genuine threats. Morocco, which eliminated Spain from the 2022 World Cup, sits in Pot 2 alongside Colombia, which recently beat Spain in a friendly, and Ecuador, runner-up in South American qualifying. Pot 3 includes Norway, led by Erling Haaland, and Scotland, the last team to defeat Spain in an official match. Italy looms as a worst-case scenario if they survive European playoffs—a team with deep tournament experience and the capacity to disrupt any group. Ghana, Curaçao, and Cape Verde round out Pot 4, offering either manageable opponents or unpredictable challengers depending on how the balls fall.
Rafael Louzán, president of Spain's football federation, framed the uncertainty with confidence: "Spain is prepared to receive anyone. If we want to be world champions, we have to be ready to play the best." That philosophy aligns with the new format's logic—a longer tournament with more matches and less room for teams to coast through early rounds on reputation alone.
The political undertones were impossible to ignore. FIFA announced a newly created Peace Prize during the ceremony, with speculation swirling about whether Trump might receive it. Civil rights organizations used the moment to highlight the contradiction: a World Cup being held in a country with increasingly restrictive immigration policies, in a nation whose internal divisions raise questions for international visitors planning to attend. The draw, then, served dual purposes—it determined which teams would compete, and it measured how thoroughly football and politics had become entangled on a stage of maximum global visibility.
Citações Notáveis
Spain is prepared to receive anyone. If we want to be world champions, we have to be ready to play the best.— Rafael Louzán, president of Spain's football federation
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that this draw happened in Washington, with Trump there, rather than somewhere neutral?
Because FIFA doesn't stage these ceremonies in a vacuum. The location, the guest list, the timing—it's all messaging. Trump gets a global platform to look presidential. Mexico and Canada get a chance to reset relations with him before the tournament. The draw becomes diplomacy.
But doesn't that risk turning a sporting event into something else entirely?
It already is something else. The moment you expand to 48 teams and add a round-of-16, you're not just thinking about soccer anymore. You're thinking about television windows, commercial breaks, which markets get prime time. Politics was always there.
Spain looks well-positioned as the top seed. What actually worries them?
Morocco, for one. They have Spain's number—they proved that in Qatar. But it's not just about individual teams. It's about the format itself. With more matches and fewer places to hide, Spain can't afford to stumble early the way they might have in a traditional 32-team tournament.
What about Italy? You mentioned them as a worst-case scenario.
Italy has to win a playoff first. But if they do, they're the kind of team that transforms a group. They're experienced, they're tactically sophisticated, they know how to grind out results. Putting them in Spain's group would be genuinely difficult.
Does the spectacle of the ceremony—the singers, the celebrities—actually matter to the teams?
Not to the teams themselves. But it matters to the tournament's reach, to how many people are watching when the balls come out. That's the whole point of holding it in Washington with Trump there. FIFA is selling a product, and the product is global attention.
What happens next?
The groups are set now, but the schedule comes Saturday. That's when the real complexity emerges—figuring out which teams play when, where, and against whom, across three countries with different time zones and infrastructure.