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- Everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup draw
- Every international team that has qualified for the 2026 World Cup
- All stadiums and host cities at the 2026 World Cup
Live updates
21:50 GMT - That's all for this evening, thanks for joining us!
21:32 GMT - USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino has already warned his team not to be complacent.
"My message to the players is Paraguay, Australia and the other team (playoff winner) is going to be difficult," he said.
"We need to prepare like each game is the final of the World Cup. Thinking we should win before we play the games is the wrong mindset."
21:21 GMT - Understatement of the year goes to Scotland boss Steve Clarke, who said it "took a long time to get to the draw, mind" when asked for his reaction to it.
"It's good," he told BBC Sport.
"The draw's fantastic. One of the big things in my head was 'no European teams'. We're playing three top sides from three different continents of the world, and that's what the World Cup is all about."
Asked about playing Brazil, and the "magic" they bring, Clarke said: "We're going to bring a little bit of magic as well, hopefully.
"It's great to play them. If you go back to 1998, which is a long time ago, Brazil and Morocco were in our group, so that's a little quirk of fate.
"Haiti will be difficult, they won their qualifying section quite comfortably. But we managed to win ours as well, so bring it on."
20:42 GMT - Flashscore's reporters are on the ground and have been getting some reaction to the pool announcement. Here's what Thomas Tuchel had to say (in German).
"We’ve got a top-tier team in Croatia, who are ranked in the top two," he said.
"Then there’s Panama, ranked 30th in the world. I don’t know a lot about them, but being 30th means they’re a strong side with enough quality to be a real underdog threat in this group.
"Ghana are outsiders as well. I think they’re currently around 70th in the world, but with players like (Mohammed) Kudus in the Premier League, they’ve got some outstanding talent.
"I don’t think they’ve even qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations yet, so they’re a bit of an unknown quantity. Overall, it’s definitely a challenging group.
"We’ll prepare accordingly. Nothing changes. I didn’t hope for any particular opponents beforehand, and we didn’t try to avoid anyone. We’ll take it as it comes and start preparing once we know exactly when and where we play."
20:08 GMT - Mark your calendars, England fans.
19:49 GMT - Here's how it all looks after that marathon draw which included every USA athlete to have ever tried their hand at sport.
19:32 GMT - What do we make of it, Scotland fans?
19:29 GMT - Given we're getting a replay of the 2010 opening match, let's relive the moment that lit the tournament alight from the start.
19:15 GMT - So England will face Croatia, Panama and Ghana, while Scotland have Morocco, Haiti and the small matter of Brazil. Get those flights booked!
19:12 GMT - Mexico will play South Africa in the opening game of the tournament, the same opening fixture as when South Africa hosted the tournament in 2010.
18:42 GMT - All the pots have been emptied. England are drawn in Group L with Croatia, 2018 World Cup opponents Panama and Ghana.
The Three Lions' first game is set to be against Croatia in Dallas or Toronto on Wednesday, June 17th.
Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, UEFA Play-off D (Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, or North Macedonia)
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, UEFA Play-off A (Italy, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, or Northern Ireland)
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D: USA, Australia, Paraguay, UEFA Play-off C (Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo, or Romania)
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, UEFA Play-off B (Ukraine, Poland, Albania, or Sweden)
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, FIFA Play-off 2 (Iraq, Bolivia, or Suriname)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, FIFA Play-off 1 (DR Congo, Jamaica, or New Caledonia)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
18:22 GMT - Ferdinand has now been joined by several North American sports icons including NFL's Tom Brady, NHL's Wayne Gretzky, MLB's Aaron Judge and NBA's Shaquille O'Neal. All that talent still wouldn't be able to hurry this draw up.
18:13 GMT - England and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand is welcomed onto the stage after a cringe-inducing introduction video.
But he lays down the rules straight away: "Mr President, we've got to stop calling it soccer. I'm sorry, where I'm from it's football." Bonus points for you, Mr Ferdinand.
18:03 GMT - Before the nitty-gritty of the draw begins, Lauryn Hill is now on stage performing a song – the third of the night.
17:56 GMT - Each of the three leaders draw out their country's ball from their pot. We know where they will be drawn, so this is just for show.
Mexico are in Group A, Canada are in Group B and the USA are in Group D.
17:49 GMT - FIFA President Gianni Infantino is back and promises the draw will finally start.
He brings up Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum up to help conduct the draw, after some chit-chat, no doubt.
17:30 GMT - Now, who could have seen this coming? US President Donald Trump is awarded FIFA's new peace prize at the World Cup draw.
The award is given to "individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace". He is up on stage to accept the prize from Infantino, who reads out a mile-long list of achievements.
I'm sure we will get to some football at some point...
17:24 GMT - Now Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger are on stage to put in a performance of the new World Cup anthem. It's not exactly K'naan's 'Wavin' Flag', but it'll do.
17:20 GMT - FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been welcomed onto the stage by co-hosts Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum and declares, "FIFA is the official happiness provider for humanity for over 100 years" as his first statement.
He then attempts to work the crowd with "USA, USA, USA!" chants, followed by Canada and Mexico songs. It's a tough watch...
17:05 GMT - Here we go! The World Cup draw ceremony gets underway with an impressive performance from legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
16:45 GMT - We've got some more detail on this evening's schedule. It is drawn out in classic football governing body style.
The ceremony begins in around 15 minutes' time, but the actual draw starts at 17:45 GMT, concluding at approximately 18:50 GMT.
Let's see how long this will stay on-script...
16:20 GMT - England boss Thomas Tuchel has arrived at the Kennedy Center! Looking very sharp indeed.
Can he be the man to lead the Three Lions to a first World Cup triumph in 60 years?
His England side are in Pot 1 and they will find out their group opponents in a short while.
15:48 GMT - With US President Donald Trump set to rake in most of the draw's attention, a raft of celebrities will also be in attendance today.
The draw will be co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, comedian Kevin Hart and actor Danny Ramirez.
A series of live performances will be delivered by global stars Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and Village People, who will conclude with their iconic 'YMCA'.
READ MORE: Which celebrities will be on show at the star-studded 2026 FIFA World Cup draw?
15:29 GMT - It's not all fun and games in Washington, DC today. Flashscore Italy's Fabio Russomando has been caught in a lengthy queue of journalists waiting outside the Kennedy Center as security conduct their entry checks.
With the wind and snow continuing, let's hope things get moving pronto.
15:18 GMT - And here is a full overview of which teams are in which pots.
Pot 1: USA, Canada, Mexico (hosts), 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, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Play-Off A, B, C and D winners and FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1 and 2 winners.
UEFA play-off A: Italy, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland
UEFA play-off B: Ukraine, Poland, Albania, Sweden
UEFA play-off C: Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo, Romania
UEFA play-off D: Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, North Macedonia
FIFA play-off 1: DR Congo, Jamaica, New Caledonia
FIFA play-off 2: Iraq, Bolivia, Suriname
15:15 GMT - So, how will the draw work this evening? The 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four, with one picked from each of the four pots.
Pot 1 contains hosts USA, Canada and Mexico and the current nine top teams in the FIFA rankings who have qualified for the tournament.
The next three pots contain the 12 best-ranked sides according to the FIFA rankings, with the lowest making up Pot 4.
The six teams to win March's play-offs will be placed in the lowest pot.
Teams from the same confederation will be kept separate in the group stage and no more than two European teams can be drawn together.
In addition, the top four FIFA-ranked teams – Spain, Argentina, France and England – will be placed on separate pathways and cannot face each other until the semi-finals.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup draw
15:05 GMT - The tournament in North America has a uniqueness in that it is the first to feature 48 teams and the first to be hosted by three countries.
Forty-two countries have confirmed their spots, with the remaining six places going to the four winners of the UEFA play-offs and two from the FIFA play-offs.
The summer of football will begin on June 11th, 2026, at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico, with the final being held on July 19th at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
READ MORE: Every international team that has qualified for the 2026 World Cup
15:00 GMT - Good afternoon and welcome to Flashscore's coverage of the 2026 World Cup draw!
The countdown to next summer's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico is well and truly on, and 48 teams will discover their fate.
England and Scotland will find out their group-stage opponents, as will Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, who still need to qualify via the play-offs in March.
Flashscore has several reporters on the ground in a wintry Washington, DC, keeping tabs on things in the build-up to the draw.
The show will get underway at around 17:00 GMT, so stick with us as we'll have all the preamble and key updates as they happen throughout the evening.
