The U.S. and Canadian soccer teams will avoid the world’s top nine-ranked countries when they find out their opponents at the World Cup draw on Friday, Dec. 5, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

As co-hosts with Mexico, the North Americans have been placed in the same pot as powerhouses Spain, Argentina, Brazil, England, France and Germany. The three host countries would not face one of the soccer giants until the round of 16, depending on what unfolds in the 12 group stages.

The draw, which begins locally at 9 a.m., involves four pots of 12 teams, leading to anticipation about the makeup of the group stages for the tournament that runs June 11 to July 19 next summer. The top two finishers and 12 strongest third-place teams of each group will advance to the knockout stage.

FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, will show the draw live at FIFA.com and on its YouTube channel. American fans also watch it on Fox (Fox Seattle 13) and Fubo. Canadians can watch it on TSN. 

“Obviously, there are different prospects of what success looks like based on what the draw looks like,” Canadian coach Jess Marsch said recently. 

Landing in Pot 1 has left Marsch optimistic, considering winless Canada played against two teams that reached the semifinals at the 2022 World Cup.

“Hopefully, we can draw the types of opponents that we think we can be successful against, but we know that nothing will be easy at the World Cup,” Marsch added.

The United States already knows it will face a potentially challenging opponent in Seattle on June 19. The game will be against one of the 12 countries from Pot 2, which includes 10th-ranked Croatia, No. 11 Morocco, No. 13 Colombia and Uruguay and Switzerland.

The No. 14 Americans head into the draw on a high after edging Paraguay and trouncing Uruguay in recent friendlies.

Canada is also on an upswing after tying Colombia and Ecuador and defeating Venezuela 2-0 on Nov. 18.

No. 27 Canada’s opponents for games on June 18 and June 21 at B.C. Place in Vancouver include countries from Pot 3 and Pot 2, respectively.

Some of the tough Pot 3 teams are Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland and Paraguay.

Seattle will hold six World Cup games at Lumen Field, while Vancouver will host seven matches. FIFA officials announced they will release a full match schedule, including stadiums and kick-off times, on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The teams were placed in the pots based on the latest FIFA world ranking, except for the three host countries and potentially No. 12 Italy, a four-time World Cup champion that needs to win a playoff in March to earn one of the remaining six spots.

Officials created two paths to the semifinals, meaning top-ranked Spain and No. 2 Argentina would not meet until the final on July 19 in New York/New Jersey as long as each team wins its group and advances through the elimination rounds. 

The bracket ensures only one of the six confederation representatives is placed in each of the 12 groups, except Europe (UEFA), which has 16 berths. No group can have more than two European qualifiers.

FIFA officials announced on Wednesday, Nov. 27, that they had sold almost 2 million tickets ahead of the draw. The third phase of ticket sales — the random selection lottery — will run Dec. 11 to Jan. 13 at FIFA.com/tickets. 

In other World Cup news, the Vancouver City Council approved a temporary bylaw to fulfill its FIFA contractual obligations as a tournament host.

The standard agreement, which will be in effect May 13 to July 20, 2026, includes permission to install temporary event structures, faster removal of graffiti and unauthorized commercial signage on private property, and temporary restrictions on street vending, street entertainment and advertising.

“We recognize that hosting an event of this magnitude will include changes to the daily life of some residents and businesses,” a council news release said.

Chart

Pot 1: United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany

Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia

Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA playoff qualifier 1, UEFA playoff qualifier 2, UEFA playoff qualifier 3, UEFA playoff qualifier 4, Inter-Confederation playoff qualifier 1, Inter-Confederation playoff qualifier 2

Check cascadiadaily.com on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 for coverage of the draw.

Elliott Almond, a veteran soccer reporter who has covered 14 Olympics, writes about World Cup 2026 for CDN in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.; elliottalmond4@gmail.com