While the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup organized by Canada, the United States and Mexico are at very different stadiums depending on the continents (the French team will start its qualifications in September with two first games), FIFA has set the draw for competition on December 5 in Washington DC (12 noon in the state capital, 6 p.m. in France). The three host countries are already placed in the first three groups.
We will then know the 12 groups of four teams, the competition welcoming 48 participants for the first time. The 16th finals of the tournament will bring the first two of each hen as well as the 8 best thirds. The heads of the draw, notably Argentina, Brazil and European qualified – such as the Blues – will have a lot of trouble … Do not access the direct elimination phase.
FIFA announced at the same time that the intercontinental dam programmed in March 2026, less than three months from the World Cup 26, will be well in North America (without specifying the place). The body presided over by Gianni Infantino could have chosen to organize this mini-tournament in Qatar, its favorite withdrawal solution since the 2022 (very successful) World Cup in Doha and its surroundings. As a reminder, UEFA qualifiers have their own dams (in the form of four Final Four).
An African team in addition to the World Cup?
This European intercontinental dam will bring together six teams recovered from their respective qualifications, an Asian selection, an African, two teams from North and Central America, the 7th in South America and the representative of Oceania which is already New Caledonia (this overseas community of France is independent and has its own national team with FIFA).
The two countries with the best FIFA ranking will be head of standard and will enter directly in the final, while the other four will compete in a first round. The representative of Africa should advance as a big favorite of this World Cup dam but will therefore have to make the trip across the Atlantic. For Asian training, it will be an even more distant trip.
