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. Algeria, 35th in the FIFA rankings, is in the third hat. She is exposed to a tough field, but remains an outsider that other nations would not necessarily like to come across.
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.
These hats therefore allow you to see more clearly on the sidelines of the draw. However, 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). Which means that the team coached by Vladimir Petkovic will not be able to come up against another African nation, and that Europe will necessarily be represented at least once in its group.
Finally, note that among the 18 play-off teams, only six of them will see the 2026 World Cup, including four from Europe. The latter are obviously to be avoided, given their higher FIFA rankings compared to the others. Notably Italy (12th) and Denmark (21st).
A group of inevitable death for Algeria?
By respecting these few rules, and assuming that all the jumpers mentioned can qualify, some trends are emerging for the Fennecs. Already, the Algerians have a one in three chance of falling against the four best nations in the world – Argentina, Spain, France, England – all present in the first hat. Canada (27th), the weakest opponent, is therefore to be hoped for by the Greens.
In the second hat, Croatia (10th) as well as Colombia (13th) should be avoided. Because as a reminder, Morocco cannot fall into the same group as that of the Algerians. Finally, the Nazionale will clearly act as the scarecrow of hat 4 if it wins its ticket in the play-offs, unlike New Caledonia (149th) or Kosovo (80th).
What draw for Algeria?
- Worst draw #1: Argentina, Croatia, Algeria, Italy
- Worst draw n°2: Spain or France, Colombia, Algeria, Italy
- Best Draw #1: Canada, Australia, Algeria, Kosovo
- Best draw n°2: United States, Austria, Algeria, New Caledonia
