FIFA name legendary quintet for UEFA preliminary draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026

The pathway for UEFA teams to the 2026 World Cup will be decided Friday at FIFA's headquarters in a draw headlined by some well-known former international stars.

Ariane Hingst, Fernando Llorente, Gianluca Zambrotta, Rachel Yankey, and Robert Pires are the former footballers called in to be draw assistants, with Hingst, Llorente, Zambrotta and Pires being former World Cup winners while Yankey is a legend in the women's game.

The draw will outline UEFA member associations' paths to the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. and will be hosted by sports broadcaster Semra Hunter and conducted by Manolo Zubiria, Chief Tournament Officer for FIFA World Cup 26.

This continues FIFA's development of the 2026 World Cup, which will have the largest number of teams on hand in the tournament's history at 48. The expansion will grant UEFA three additional teams, going from 13 to 16 teams.

UEFA will have a tournament to qualify for the World Cup, with the group stage running from March 2025 to November 2025, with 12 groups of four or five teams. Group winners will qualify directly.

The remaining four spots will be determined in March 2026 through a 16-team playoff involving group runners-up and top UEFA Nations League teams that haven't already qualified.

Pires was part of France’s 1998 FIFA World Cup-winning team and later became a key player for Arsenal's Invincibles, the only Premier League team to go unbeaten in league history - doing so in the 2003-04 season.

UEFA's World Cup hopefuls will learn more about its qualification pathway Friday, Dec. 13.