2026 World Cup Draw Date, Location Reportedly Set Ahead of 48-Team Tournament
The FIFA World Cup draw for next summer's tournament will reportedly be held on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.
"December 5th, if I'm not mistaken, is precisely the day the draw takes place, or at the beginning of December," Pachuca executive Pedro Cedillo, who is pushing for World Cup training camps to be hosted in Mexico, told ESPN. "I understand it will be in Las Vegas, and that's where we need to be present to provide information about the city of Pachuca, the state of Hidalgo, and the two venues we have."
The "front-running" venue to host the World Cup draw is reportedly The Sphere, per ESPN. The Las Vegas Convention Center, which would have also made sense as a potential host for the draw, is already booked on Dec. 5.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in 16 host cities across the North American continent: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Mexico City, Monterrey, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and Toronto.
It will also be the first men's World Cup to feature 48 teams, expanding from 32. The United States, Mexico and Canada qualified automatically as host nations, while Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Japan, defending champion Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil and New Zealand have already earned their places.
The qualifying berths are broken down regionally as follows:
UEFA: Sixteen direct spots.
Africa: Nine direct spots and one Play-Off Tournament place.
Asia: Eight direct spots and one Play-Off Tournament place.
Concacaf: Six direct spots and two Play-Off Tournament places.
Conmebol: Six direct spots and one Play-Off Tournament place.
Oceanian: One direct spot and one Play-Off Tournament place.
Two of the teams from the inter-confederation playoffs will ultimately reach the World Cup.
The World Cup tournament itself will begin on June 11 in Mexico City, with the final taking place on July 19 at East Rutherford's MetLife Stadium.
