Who has won the most World Cup titles?

Brazil have won the World Cup five times, more than any other country. They first lifted the trophy in 1958, before successfully defending their title four years later. They then made it three in 1970, while also emerging victorious in 1994 and 2002 to show what they're made of.

How many teams are in the World Cup?

The most recent edition of the World Cup, which took place in Qatar in 2022, featured 32 teams. However, from the upcoming edition in 2026, as many as 48 teams will be contesting for the ultimate prize in international football. The number of teams that will be featuring has almost quadrupled since the inaugural edition in 1930, which hosted 13 teams.

Who has made the most World Cup appearances ever?

Lionel Messi holds the record of making the most appearances in World Cups, having represented Argentina 26 times across five editions.

Who is the all-time top scorer of the World Cup?

Germany's Miroslav Klose tops the all-time goalscoring charts in World Cups, having scored an incredible 16 goals in 24 games across four consecutive editions from 2002 to 2014.

Who is the oldest player ever in the World Cup and how old was he?

Egyptian legend Essam El Hadary is the oldest player to have ever featured in a World Cup game. The goalkeeper was 45 years and 161 days old when he participated in Egypt's 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup.

Who is the youngest player ever in the World Cup and how old was he?

Former Manchester United man Norman Whiteside is the youngest player ever to play a World Cup game. The midfielder was just 17 years and 41 days old when he featured for Northern Ireland in a game against Yugoslavia at the 1982 World Cup.

Which famous players have played in the World Cup?

Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Gerd Muller, Roberto Baggio, Ronaldo, Romario, Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, David Villa, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo among others are some of the biggest legends in footballing history who have graced the pitch during World Cups.

Which famous managers have managed in the World Cup?

The likes of Didier Deschamps, Franz Beckenbauer, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Vicente del Bosque, Vittorio Pozzo, Louis van Gaal, Sven-Goran Eriksson, and Ivica Osim are some of the most accomplished individuals to have managed at the World Cup finals.

World Cup trophy Harry Kane England Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal

Getty/GOAL composite

Ryan Kelly

Dec 05, 2025 06:55-05:00

World Cup 2026 seeding: Confirmed pots ahead of group stage draw

Complete seeding pots ahead of the World Cup 2026 draw, plus information on how it will all work, who is involved and more.

World Cup 2026 is finally coming into view and we will soon know how the group stage is shaping up, as well as the road to the final.

Lionel Messi's Argentina are the defending champions, while Cristiano Ronaldo has signalled that this will be his last World Cup and so, it could well be his final shot at glory. England are still aiming to end decades of hurt since winning the cup in 1966, while the hosts USA, Mexico and Canada are certainly going to be eager to thrill the home support.

Here, GOAL brings you the World Cup 2026 group stage seeding pots in full, plus information on how the draw will work, who is involved and more.

World Cup 2026 draw seeding pots

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
🇺🇸 United States	🇭🇷 Croatia	🇳🇴 Norway	🇯🇴 Jordan
🇨🇦 Canada	🇲🇦 Morocco	🇵🇦 Panama	🇨🇻 Cape Verde
🇲🇽 Mexico	🇨🇴 Colombia	🇪🇬 Egypt	🇬🇭 Ghana
🇪🇸 Spain	🇺🇾 Uruguay	🇩🇿 Algeria	🇨🇼 Curacao
🇦🇷 Argentina	🇨🇭 Switzerland	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland	🇭🇹 Haiti
🇫🇷 France	🇯🇵 Japan	🇵🇾 Paraguay	🇳🇿 New Zealand
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	🇸🇳 Senegal	🇹🇳 Tunisia	UEFA play-off winners
🇧🇷 Brazil	🇮🇷 Iran	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	UEFA play-off winners
🇵🇹 Portugal	🇰🇷 South Korea	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	UEFA play-off winners
🇳🇱 Netherlands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	🇶🇦 Qatar	UEFA play-off winners
🇧🇪 Belgium	🇦🇹 Austria	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	IC play-off winners
🇩🇪 Germany	🇦🇺 Australia	🇿🇦 South Africa	IC play-off winners

The qualified teams are divided into four seeding pots based on their FIFA ranking, with hosts United States, Mexico and Canada in Pot One. Six of the 48 spots are reserved for the winners of the play-offs, who are a part of Pot Four.

As you can see above, among the top seeds are teams such as Spain, England, France and Brazil, who will be expected to challenge for the trophy next summer.

Who are the play-off teams?

Four teams from Europe will advance from the UEFA play-offs, while two teams will progress to the finals via the inter-continental play-offs. Those play-off series will take place in March 2026.

Wales / Bosnia-Herzegovina / Italy / N. Ireland (UEFA)
Ukraine / Sweden / Poland / Albania (UEFA)
Slovakia / Kosovo / Turkey / Romania (UEFA)
Czechia / Ireland / Denmark / N. Macedonia (UEFA)
New Caledonia / Jamaica / DR Congo (Inter-continental)
Bolivia / Suriname / Iraq (Inter-continental)

How will the World Cup draw work?

The draw will start with the Pot One teams being drawn into groups A to L. As tournament hosts, Mexico (green ball) will be allocated to group A, Canada (red ball) will be allocated to group B and the United States (blue ball) will be allocated to group D. After Pot One teams have been drawn, the same process will be repeated for the remaining pots.

Are there any constraints for the draw?

By design, teams from the same seeding pot cannot be drawn in the same group, therefore, as an example, the United States cannot play Brazil (both Pot One) in the group stage.

Furthermore, teams from the same federation cannot be drawn together in the same group, so we will not see, for example, Brazil paired with Colombia (both CONMEBOL) in a group. This applies to all federations except UEFA; each group must have at least one, but not more than two teams from UEFA.

Additionally, FIFA has decided to keep the four highest-ranked teams apart by establishing separate pathways to the semi-finals in the knockout stage. Should they win their groups, Spain and Argentina will be randomly drawn into different pathways, with the same principle applying to France and England.

Who is conducting the World Cup draw?

The World Cup 2026 draw will be co-hosted by actor Kevin Hart, supermodel Heidi Klum and actor Danny Ramirez.

Entertainment will come in the form of musical performances from Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, The Village People and Andrea Bocelli. At the conclusion of the draw, The Village People will close things out by performing a rendition of their hit 'Y.M.C.A.'.

An all-star cast of conductors and draw assistants representing various sports will also be on stage in Washington D.C. Former Manchester United and England captain Rio Ferdinand will conduct proceedings alongside Samantha Johnson, with legendary NFL quarter-back Eli Manning on red-carpet duties.

They will be assisted in the draw by an iconic quartet made up of Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neale, Aaron Judge and Wayne Gretzky.

When and where is the World Cup draw?

Date:	December 5, 2025
Time:	12 noon ET / 9am PT / 5pm GMT
Venue:	Kennedy Center, Washington DC

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on Friday December 5, 2025. Things are scheduled to start at 12 noon ET (9am PT) for viewers in the United States and 5pm GMT for fans in the United Kingdom. It will all take place at the Kennedy Center, an iconic performing arts venue in Washington DC.

Here are the World Cup draw start times for different time zones:

ET: 12 noon
PT: 9am
GMT: 5pm
CET: 6pm
EET: 7pm
AST: 8pm
AEDT: 3am (Dec 6)

Where to watch the World Cup draw live - TV & streaming

World Cup draw live on fubo in the USStream here

The draw will be available to watch worldwide on FIFA+ and FIFA's official website, as well as the official YouTube channel. It will also be broadcast on a FIFA's various partner networks across the world.

In the United States, FOX and Telemundo will show the draw in both English and Spanish. Those channels are also available to stream live on fubo - find out more about the service here.

Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to tune into the draw live on ITVX, while fans based in Canada can watch live on TSN.

Frequently asked questions

: Brazil have won the World Cup five times, more than any other country. They first lifted the trophy in 1958, before successfully defending their title four years later. They then made it three in 1970, while also emerging victorious in 1994 and 2002 to show what they're made of.
: The most recent edition of the World Cup, which took place in Qatar in 2022, featured 32 teams. However, from the upcoming edition in 2026, as many as 48 teams will be contesting for the ultimate prize in international football. The number of teams that will be featuring has almost quadrupled since the inaugural edition in 1930, which hosted 13 teams.
: Lionel Messi holds the record of making the most appearances in World Cups, having represented Argentina 26 times across five editions.
: Germany's Miroslav Klose tops the all-time goalscoring charts in World Cups, having scored an incredible 16 goals in 24 games across four consecutive editions from 2002 to 2014.
: Egyptian legend Essam El Hadary is the oldest player to have ever featured in a World Cup game. The goalkeeper was 45 years and 161 days old when he participated in Egypt's 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup.
: Former Manchester United man Norman Whiteside is the youngest player ever to play a World Cup game. The midfielder was just 17 years and 41 days old when he featured for Northern Ireland in a game against Yugoslavia at the 1982 World Cup.
: Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Gerd Muller, Roberto Baggio, Ronaldo, Romario, Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, David Villa, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo among others are some of the biggest legends in footballing history who have graced the pitch during World Cups.
: The likes of Didier Deschamps, Franz Beckenbauer, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Vicente del Bosque, Vittorio Pozzo, Louis van Gaal, Sven-Goran Eriksson, and Ivica Osim are some of the most accomplished individuals to have managed at the World Cup finals.