A few months before the 2026 World Cup organized in the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA unveiled the official hats on Tuesday, as well as the conditions of the draw scheduled for December 5 in Washington. For the moment, 42 nations have already qualified, allowing us to glimpse the potential outlines of the twelve groups. Unsurprisingly, France is in the first hat due to its third place in the FIFA rankings.
The hats and the roadblocks
- Hat 1: Canada, Mexico, United States, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.
- Hat 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia.
- Hat 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
- Hat 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European play-offs A, B, C and D, FIFA 1 and 2 play-off tournaments.
- Dam operators: Italy, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales, Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Albania, Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Kosovo, Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Ireland, New Caledonia, Jamaica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia, Suriname, Iraq.
Concerning the draw for the group stages, some constraints will have to be respected. First, only one team from each confederation can be present in each group. Except for UEFA (two maximum), given the significant number of European qualifiers (16).
The Blues in an easy group?
Then, the first four nations in the FIFA rankings will not be able to compete before the semi-finals if they finish at the top of their respective groups. Finally, note that among the 18 play-off teams, only six of them will see the 2026 World Cup, including four from Europe.
Respecting these few rules, and assuming that all the play-off players mentioned can qualify, here are the two best and worst potential draws for the Blues.
What draw for the French team?
- Best draw n°1: France, Iran, South Africa, New Caledonia
- Best draw n°2: France, Australia, Panama, New Zealand
- Worst draw #1: France, Morocco, Paraguay, Italy
- Worst draw #2: France, Colombia or Uruguay, Egypt or Algeria, Italy
