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Six Instant Reactions to the 2026 World Cup Draw

The groups for the North America–hosted World Cup next summer are (mostly) set. Let’s discuss.

By The Ringer StaffDec. 5, 9:55 pm UTC • 8 min

After a prolonged draw ceremony in Washington, D.C., featuring approximately 72 “power of football” montages, Shaquille O’Neal calling himself “David Blackham,” and FIFA president Gianni Infantino awarding Donald Trump a “peace prize,” the 2026 World Cup draw is (mostly) set. What are the biggest takeaways and the most enticing matchups? The Ringer staff has thoughts:

Group I is a generational GOAT-off. 

Ask most soccer fans, and they’ll tell you that the closest thing the sport has to a Messi-Ronaldo successor is Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. Both players are lethal attacking threats, but they go about their business in different ways. Mbappé likes to take defenders on from the left wing with his speed and dribbling, although since his high-profile move to Real Madrid, he’s featured more centrally. Haaland, meanwhile, does most of his damage in the box as a ruthlessly efficient poacher (mind you, he’s also lightning quick). Unfortunately, the duo have faced each other only three times, and while Champions League knockout games are nothing to scoff at, being denied a Mbappé-Haaland showdown on the sport’s biggest stage would be about as soul crushing as the end of an Ari Aster film.

Thankfully, the 2026 World Cup draw has answered our prayers. In Group I—a contender for the tournament’s group of death—France, Norway, Senegal, and the playoff winner among Bolivia, Iraq, or Suriname will be fighting for two spots in the round of 32. A Mbappé-Haaland match in the World Cup is guaranteed to be box office entertainment—and that’s before you factor in all the talent surrounding them. Haaland has the likes of Martin Ødegaard, Manchester City teammate Oscar Bobb, and Alexander Sørloth to support him in attack; France has an embarrassment of riches across the pitch, including Bayern Munich’s newest superstar, Michael Olise. Throw in an impressive Senegalese team that’s ranked the second best in Africa, and all eyes should be on Group I this summer. —Miles Surrey

The U.S. should be feeling good.

The United States found its way into arguably the most evenly balanced of the 12 groups drawn on Friday. While Australia was one of the weakest teams in Pot 2, Paraguay and a European playoff foe (potentially Türkiye) from Pots 3 and 4 were among the strongest possible opponents to level off the group. While none of these nations are quite traditional soccer powers, all of them are formidable and have played against the United States in friendlies within the past calendar year.

The Americans have performed considerably better in the past two international windows—including in wins against both Australia and Paraguay—but they have played below their talent level as a whole for most of the past three years following a promising showing at the 2022 World Cup. Take a quick glance at the names of their foes, and you’d assume that the United States was favored to win it, but that’s not necessarily the case. The U.S. will play host to Paraguay on June 12 to open their World Cup at SoFi Stadium, followed by a game against Australia on June 19 in Seattle and a group closer against one of Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia, or Kosovo on June 25 back at SoFi. (It’s worth noting that the U.S. lost to Türkiye back in June.) Nevertheless, the Americans avoided an obviously superior group foe like Europe’s giants, Brazil, or Argentina, and that should overall turn Group D into a real opportunity for them.

Should the Americans advance as group winners, a potential round of 16 matchup with Belgium could be on the horizon, as nightmares of Chris Wondolowski’s 2014 stoppage time miss come rushing back into our brains again. —Anthony Dabbundo

Who got the best draw?

All this talk about groups of death, but who drew the easiest route to the knockout rounds? The defending champions, Argentina, look poised to start their campaign with an advantageous draw in Group J. Their closest opponent in ranking is Austria (24th in the FIFA World Ranking). Argentina’s squad will likely feature stars in the prime of their careers, such as Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, and reigning FIFA World Cup Best Young Player award winner Enzo Fernández. Oh, and there’s also that little guy from Rosario whom you may have heard of, and if he is healthy and able to participate, he should still prove himself to be one of the most talented players in the world.

Spain is another contender for most advantageous draw, although both Uruguay and Saudi Arabia could prove to be tough tests for the current no. 1 in the FIFA World Rankings. The stage is set, though, for Lamine Yamal to continue his dominance on the international stage.

Brazil and Morocco—both in the same group—also drew comfortable matchups. As long as they swat aside Haiti and Scotland, both should comfortably progress. The “World Cup window” is always open for Brazil, but that also leads to heavy expectations every four years. Morocco will also be looking to build on their fourth-place performance at the previous World Cup. Last but not least, the groups are also pretty friendly for Portugal (who’ll be facing Uzbekistan, Colombia, and one of Jamaica, DR Congo, or New Caledonia) and Belgium (against Egypt, Iran, New Zealand). —Neil Francisco

Playtime is over for England.

Let me be clear: England were not the biggest losers of the 2026 World Cup draw. The biggest losers were, in order:

1. Taste
2. The good name of football itself
3. Everyone who watched
4. Robbie Williams/the Village People (tie)
5. Peace

But England were among the biggest losers of the draw. The Euro 2020 and 2024 finalists (they lost both) will share Group L (for Loser) with Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. They'll probably be fine because they're one of the best teams in the world, having cruised through World Cup qualifying without conceding a single goal. Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, and Bukayo Saka headline a talented squad of young stars and so forth. Still, it's a pretty gnarly group. Croatia are currently ranked 10th in the world by FIFA and tied for ninth by Elo. They've also made the semis or better in two straight World Cups, and they have a history of beating England when it counts, including at the World Cup in 2018 and at the infamous wally with a brolly game, which kept England from qualifying for Euro 2008. This World Cup is likely to be the final international tournament for the great Luka Modric, so Josko Gvardiol (one of the best defenders around) and his teammates should be motivated to keep the magic alive. 

Ghana's team sheet is loaded with guys who play in Europe, most notably Premier League stars Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus, and they sailed through African qualifying. Panama's a deeply experienced bunch that’s ending 2025 having lost just once in their past 15 games. Group L may not be the Group of Death (sorry, Group I), but this is England we're talking about; a Group of Severe Indigestion may be all it takes to knock them out. —Brian Phillips

What are the most exciting matchups?

Plenty will be written about England-Croatia and France-Senegal, but for my money, the best matches of the group stage are Brazil-Morocco and Netherlands-Japan.

Morocco’s run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals was one of the most thrilling stories of the whole tournament. They rode a stingy defense to wins over Belgium, Canada, Spain (on penalties), and Portugal while conceding only three goals in six games before the third-place match. The question is which Brazil attack we’ll see next summer. Will it be the free-flowing “Futbol Bonito” that has defined the Brazilians for decades, or will Carlos Ancelotti continue to struggle to manage a group of personalities that includes Vinicius Jr., Lucas Paqueta, Estevao, and Matheus Cunha? (And that’s just the attackers.) Whether the South Americans can find some consistent form will likely be the difference between them starting off well or earning early fraud allegations.

For a glorious few minutes almost three years ago, Japan were on the verge of knocking out heavyweights Spain and Germany in the World Cup. While Spain managed to advance, the Samurai Blue were still able to walk away with a 2-1 win over a Spanish team that would go on to dominate football for the next three years. Can they play spoiler again with a Netherlands team that often dominates lesser sides and hasn’t lost in regulation for over a year?  

But those are hardly the only games worth being excited about. Spain-Uruguay pits one of the youngest and most exciting teams in the world against an aging South American side that is nonetheless headed by one of the great tacticians of the game. (Not to mention the classic former empire vs. colonial power narrative.) Even though Marcelo Bielsa’s men got blasted by the USMNT during a friendly last month, the manager still has the faith of his association—we’ll see whether he still has the players’.

Germany-Ecuador could be the deciding game of Group E, with the Germans desperate to advance to the knockout stages after being eliminated early in each World Cup since they won it in 2014. And finally, Colombia has a chance to do the funniest thing and upset Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the teams’ last game of the group stage. With Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz in the Colombia squad, anything’s possible. —Kellen Becoats

Let's look at potential spicy games in the knockouts.

We’re only a couple of hours removed from the group draw of a tournament that will take place in six months, so naturally, it’s time to begin speculating on possible knockout clashes. With the World Cup bracket seeding already predetermined, we can do just that. Here are a few possible tantalizing showdowns:

• Argentina vs. Spain or Uruguay in the round of 32. Argentina will certainly be favored to finish first in a group that includes Jordan, Austria, and Algeria. Spain and Uruguay are the two dominant powers in their group, meaning that, barring some unforeseen turn of events, whichever finishes second will meet Argentina in … that’s right, Lionel Messi’s Miami.
• Germany vs. France in the round of 16. Assuming these historic heavyweights top their groups and make light work of their round of 32 matches, this feels like a date with destiny.
• England vs. Mexico in the round of 16. If England and Mexico win their groups and make it through their first knockout game of the tournament, we’ll see these two prominent nations square off in Mexico City. What a fixture that would be. Mexico could potentially have to get past Ecuador first, which is no easy ask, but hey, that’s what the World Cup home advantage is for.
• Argentina vs. Portugal in the quarterfinals. Perhaps I’m getting carried away with the crystal ball here, but Argentina and Portugal are both in the same section of the bracket and both Pot 1 teams that should theoretically win their groups and their preceding knockout games, so why not? Oh, yes. This is absolutely possible. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo in their Last Dance World Cups. Please, soccer gods, I beg you to make this happen. —Aric Jenkins

The Ringer Staff

The Ringer Staff