Spain will not be able to face Argentina and France will not face England before the World Cup final — as long as they all win their groups — after FIFA announced, this Tuesday (25), the rules of the draw.
The rule aims to maintain competitive balance in the expanded 48-team format, ensuring that the top-ranked team (Spain) and number two (world champion Argentina) are in opposite halves of the bracket, with the same applying to number three (France) and number four (England).
Even if these teams do not win their groups, the four seeded countries will not be able to meet before the semi-finals.
Fifth in the current ranking, the Brazilian team is not involved in this balancing rule.
The draw for the 2026 World Cup takes place on December 5th in Washington, with the updated match calendar, including stadiums and start times, to be released on December 6th.
Hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA are in Pot 1, which includes Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Pot 2 has Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia.
Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Pot 4 will be Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the winners of the European play-offs A, B, C and D, and the FIFA 1 and 2 play-off tournaments.
Confederation restrictions will apply, with no group having more than one team from the same region, except UEFA, which has 16 representatives and can place up to two teams in a group.
The tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada begins on June 11th, with the final on July 19th in New Jersey.
