12/05/25 12:12Singer Andrea Bocelli opens World Cup draw with performance
-Adrian Morrow
Singer Andrea Bocelli performs at the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington.MANDEL NGAN/Reuters
This Andrea Bocelli number will be familiar to anyone who has attended a Trump rally in the past 10 years – it’s one of the standards he uses to close the evening.
Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino sitting back and centre, in the first balcony up, directly across from the stage.
12/05/25 12:08On the ground from the Kennedy Center in Washington
– Cathal Kelly
Hi, I’m Cathal Kelly, a Globe sports columnist, and I’m at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The draw is beginning, though it’s still more of a concert than a draw. The sports part of this won’t start until 45 minutes into the show.
Here’s what Canada’s looking to do: avoid wherever possible the likes of Croatia (their Qatar nemesis), Morocco, Italy, Norway and Colombia. That’s a decent top 5 “we’d rather not” list. Anybody else, and you could say they did okay here today.
12/05/25 12:05Hundreds attend Toronto’s World Cup draw watch party
– Greg Mercer
Soccer fans gather at the St. Lawrence Market North Building for a World Cup draw party organized by the City of Toronto.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
There are hundreds of people inside Toronto’s World Cup draw watch party, many wearing national soccer jerseys and scarves. The event, with thumping music and a poutine station, is closed to the public, so most people here are either city staff, soccer officials, FIFA representatives or politicians.
12/05/25 11:57Gretzky, Brady among non-soccer stars helping with the draw
-Globe staff
According to the official FIFA World Cup account, athletes from across the sports world will be on hand to help with the draw, whether in a “conductor” role (Rio Ferdinand and Samantha Johnson), the host of the red carpet (Eli Manning) or assisting with the draw (Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal).
12/05/25 11:53Vancouver watch-party-goers gear up for today’s World Cup draw
– Andrea Woo
Gustavo Lin, an Argentinian-born Vancouverite who brought along a replica FIFA World Cup trophy that has been sitting in his living room since Argentina’s win in 2022.Andrea Woo/The Globe and Mail
Good morning! I’m Andrea Woo at the Vancouver watch party for today’s FIFA draw, which is being held at a brewery that is … significantly busier than I expected it to be at 8 a.m.! The host of today’s event here is none other than FIFA Women’s World Cup veteran Christine Sinclair.
While waiting to get started, I chatted with Gustavo Lin, an Argentinian-born Vancouverite who brought along a replica FIFA World Cup trophy that has been sitting in his living room since Argentina’s win in 2022. Asked about his fandom, he said: “As an Argentinian, you have no choice. … It’s in your blood, even if you don’t like the sport.”
12/05/25 11:48As FIFA adds constraints to World Cup draw, the possibility for inherent bias remains
– Paul Attfield
The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws.Denis Balibouse/Reuters
With notable exceptions – such as the error-strewn farce ahead of the 1982 tournament – the World Cup draw usually goes off without a hitch.
Lottery balls are plucked from buckets, the identities of the teams are revealed, the groups are methodically filled, and fans across the planet can start plotting their team’s path to glory.
While there is nothing to suggest today’s event will be anything but a success, some say quietly that it could be improved.
Improvements aren’t sought in the amount of pomp around the star-studded event but in the process that is used to fill each of the round-robin groups.
After dividing the teams into tiered pots – generally seeded according to the world rankings – FIFA employs a sequential method to fill the groups in order, so that each will contain one team from Pot 1, one from Pot 2 and so on. There are various constraints added on top of that, such as restricting the number of teams from each of the six confederations to one per group – with the exception of UEFA, which is allowed at least one and no more than two per group, owing to the 16 European teams in the draw.
However, these constraints, alongside the sequential method – which moves the conflicted team to the next available group – introduce the possibility for inherent bias in the proceedings.
12/05/25 11:42Unavoidable interwoven relationships of politics and FIFA
-Adrian Morrow
Police officers are seen forming a fence outside the John F. Kennedy Center ahead the FIFA World Cup draw.Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Because of Donald Trump’s tight security, there was a two-hour lineup to get through Secret Service screening outside the Kennedy Center this morning, under the first snowfall of the season.
The queue was along Jamal Khashoggi Way, named for the Saudi dissident murdered, according to U.S. intelligence, on the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Both Trump and FIFA head Gianni Infantino have cultivated relationships with MBS; Infantino awarded the 2034 World Cup to the Kingdom last year.
The sign bearing Khashoggi’s name, just outside the hall, is a visual reminder that Infantino’s bromance with Trump isn’t the first time he has drawn fire for getting close to contentious political figures.
12/05/25 11:37Coach Jesse Marsch on the teams he’s looking to avoid in the draw
-Paul Attfield
Jesse Marsch, Head Coach of Canada, poses on the red carpet prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The draw is still minutes away, but the dignitaries are assembling on the red carpet, including the head coaches and managers from the 64 countries involved (both those that have already qualified and those set to take part in the playoffs).
Canadian men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch was very honest about the teams he would not want to face in the World Cup draw. In talking to TSN, he said he wants to avoid Norway – a Pot 3 team – in the draw. The European side is led by Erling Haaland, one of the world’s top strikers, who has 15 goals in 14 Premier League games for Manchester City this season. Marsch knows him better than most, having coached him for a season at Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg.
He also said he’d like to avoid one of the TBD teams, with six placeholders set to represent the countries that will emerge from the playoffs next March. Marsch added that he would like to know the identities of all three opponents Canada will face so that he and his coaching team can get a head start on preparations.
12/05/25 11:33Watching for Toronto and Vancouver matchups
– Paul Attfield
Vancouver’s BC Place will be one of the venues to hold matches at the 2026 World Cup.DARRYL DYCK/The Associated Press
I’m Paul Attfield, a sports reporter based in Toronto, and I’m watching the TSN broadcast from home, eagerly awaiting how it all turns out.
Like so many others already in possession of tickets for the first men’s World Cup games to be played on Canadian soil, I’ll be very interested to see who will get to play in both Toronto and Vancouver, though those matchups won’t be fully known until the schedule reveal on Saturday.
12/05/25 11:30More than 248,000 World Cup volunteer applications in Toronto
-Greg Mercer
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, speaking at the World Cup draw watch party, said the tournament will be a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase who we are.” She said more than 248,000 people applied to be volunteers for the tournament in Toronto – more than any other of the 16 host cities.
12/05/25 11:28The schedule for the day
– Globe staff
Cathal Kelly/The Globe and Mail
According to FIFA’s official timeline, the event should take two hours, including four musical performances, the awarding of the Peace Prize and, of course, the draw itself, starting at 12:45 p.m. ET.
12/05/25 11:25Carney says Canada is ‘up for anyone’
– Campbell Clark
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on the red carpet with his wife Diana Fox Carney ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Canada’s Prime Minister has already weighed in on who the country wants to face out of today’s World Cup draw.
“We’re up for anyone,” Mark Carney told a TSN reporter. He said he’d like to see Canada face “a mix” of countries from different regions with different playing styles – and whoever it is, they will have a connection to Canada.
Carney pointed out that the World Cup is a big event for younger Canadians, as soccer is the most-played sport among boys and girls.
12/05/25 11:22A preview of the political spectacle to come
– Adrian Morrow
U.S. President Donald Trump’s face is painted on a football ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Hi, I’m Adrian Morrow, a Washington, D.C.-based U.S. correspondent for The Globe and Mail. I’m at the Kennedy Center, where the World Cup draw is scheduled to kick off at noon.
I’m mostly here for the political spectacle: As part of FIFA head Gianni Infantino’s courtship of Donald Trump, he’s expected to give the U.S. President FIFA’s first-ever peace prize, which Infantino created last month as something of a consolation prize for Trump, who desperately covets another, more famous prize of the same name.
12/05/25 11:15Watching for the soccer – and the politics
– Campbell Clark
I’m Campbell Clark, chief political writer based in Ottawa, but today I’m joining the live blog on my other obsession, soccer.
It will be an interesting draw – and for Canada, possibly an opportunity to get through the group stage for the first time. As a co-host with Mexico and the U.S., our men’s national team will be seeded in Pot 1, so it won’t be in a group with the world’s very best. Still, a lot of good teams could make for great matches. And I will be watching some of the politics around the draw event in Washington, too.
12/05/25 11:12World Cup draw in Washington is one more play in Trump and FIFA’s long game of politics
– Adrian Morrow
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino visited the White House with a copy of the World Cup trophy in August, which the President successfully lobbied to keep.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images
When FIFA dignitaries and star soccer players gather at the Kennedy Center in Washington today at noon, the ostensible purpose will be to determine which team plays which in the first round of next year’s World Cup.
But the world’s eyes are less likely to focus on the actual draw than on the bromance between U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.
In the run-up to the World Cup, Infantino has bent over backward to please Trump. The Swiss-Italian soccer executive has lavished public praise on the President, presented him with a trophy and opened a FIFA office in Manhattan’s Trump Tower.
Infantino’s campaign of flattery is expected to reach new heights today when he will award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. It is a good bet that this new honour, which Infantino created barely a month ago, will go to Trump as a consolation for the Nobel he has loudly campaigned for but so far failed to win.
While it’s common for politicians to bask in the reflected glory of popular sporting events, Trump has done so to an unusual degree with Infantino’s backing. It is all set to make for an ostentatious spectacle that could overshadow the game itself and tie FIFA’s brand with the President’s.
12/05/25 11:08Toronto gears up for World Cup draw with a watch party
– Greg Mercer
Staff prepare the St. Lawrence Market North Building for the City of Toronto’s World Cup draw party in Toronto.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
I’m Greg Mercer, a reporter with The Globe and Mail’s investigative team, at Toronto’s World Cup draw watch party this morning. The private event is closed to the public but packed with city staff, sponsors and FIFA representatives.
I just conducted a short interview with John Tory, who led Toronto’s bid to co-host the World Cup when he was mayor. He says the tournament, while criticized for its cost and association with divisive policies from the Trump White House, will be a “psychological and economic” boost for the city and Canada.
12/05/25 11:00How the World Cup draw works
– Paul Attfield
Trionda, the official match ball, prior to the International Friendly between Argentina and Venezuela at Hard Rock Stadium on Oct. 10 in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Adidas Trionda will be used in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.Rich Storry/Getty Images
With the 2026 tournament having expanded by 50 per cent from three years ago in Qatar, there are now 48 teams to be divided up into 12 groups of four for the round robin.
For the purposes of the draw, the teams have been seeded into four pots of 12 teams, based on the FIFA world rankings as of Nov. 19, with the three co-hosts – Canada, Mexico and the United States – automatically placed in the first pot, along with the nine highest teams in the world rankings.
However, with only 42 of the 48 teams having qualified as of yet, there will be six placeholders in the draw to represent the teams that will qualify from the playoffs, scheduled for the end of March. However, all six will be placed in the fourth pot of seeds, opening the possibility that a team like four-time World Cup winner Italy (which, despite being ranked 12th in the world, will have to try to qualify through the playoffs) being drawn into a group with a top-seeded team like Brazil, England or Canada.
12/05/25 11:00Carney, Trump to meet briefly during FIFA World Cup draw in Washington
– Steven Chase and Adrian Morrow
President Donald Trump meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 7.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet today in Washington with Donald Trump, as the U.S. President has been talking of withdrawing from the USMCA, the trilateral North American trade deal.
“The Prime Minister and Mr. Trump will have a brief meeting during their time together at the Kennedy Center” as the two leaders gather for the final FIFA World Cup draw, said Audrey Champoux, deputy director of communications and media relations for the PMO.
She added that Carney will also meet briefly with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
12/05/25 11:00When the World Cup draw starts and how to watch
– Paul Attfield
The 2026 World Cup draw will begin today at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
Canadians can watch the draw live on TSN or stream it on FIFA’s website.
A record 64 nations will be in Friday’s World Cup draw, more than 30 per cent of FIFA’s members, as soccer’s leaders insist a bigger tournament is better.
The Associated Press
12/05/25 11:00What to know about today’s World Cup draw
– Paul Attfield
Toronto’s BMO Field, whose first phase of World Cup upgrades finished in September, will be one of the venues for next year’s FIFA soccer tournament. The games will be held in 16 cities across North America. Vancouver’s BC Place is the other Canadian stadium.Sarah Espedido/The Globe and Mail
Today’s draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will determine Canada’s opponents for the opening group stage and the team’s potential path through the competition.
Although the Canadian men’s national team has long known it would be at this World Cup – its second straight and third in the federation’s history – what hasn’t been known is the identity of its three opponents in the round robin, beginning with its first game on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto.
All will be revealed beginning at noon ET at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, U.S. President Donald Trump – whose lobbying for a Nobel Peace Prize could be appeased by the association’s creation of the FIFA Peace Prize – and assembled dignitaries and soccer legends will pull coloured balls out of buckets in a lavish televised event to fill out the different groups.