Story byWashington DC has been chosen for the World Cup draw, though the city will not host any matches []Dale Johnson - Football issues correspondentFri, December 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM UTC·9 min readPots, quadrants, confederation constraints, group position grids... the 2026 World Cup finals draw on Friday is not going to be a straightforward affair. There's a lot to unpack so we're going to explain it as simply as we can. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLuckily, Fifa will have a computer to do most of the heavy lifting and make sure everything runs smoothly. Though as Uefa found out in 2021, sometimes technology does go wrong. Let's hope there will be no gremlins in Washington once the draw ceremony kicks off. Here is how it will work, what to expect and a few key things to look out for. When will draw start and how long will it take?The ceremony gets started at 17:00 GMT (12:00 local time) on 5 December, but there's going to be far more to this glitzy event than simply pulling the countries out of a hat. Supermodel Heidi Klum, comedian Kevin Hart and actor and producer Danny Ramirez will co-host. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBefore the draw there will be live music performances from Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger, while Fifa president Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump are both expected to make speeches. Then it is on to video clips of the finalists, introductions and the draw itself. Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand will conduct the draw. The 47-year-old will be joined by broadcaster Samantha Johnson and a host of sporting greats, including Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O'Neal. Once the draw has been completed, the Village People will perform YMCA to bring the curtain down, with the entire ceremony expected to last about 90 minutes. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHow AI could power Three Lions to World Cup gloryQuiz: Which nations have qualified for 2026 World Cup?Who are the 2026 World Cup debutants?How has Fifa seeded the draw?The 48 teams have been placed into four pots of 12 based primarily on Fifa world rankings. The exceptions are the three hosts who are automatically in pot one, and the teams who will qualify through the six play-off paths, who go into pot four. Given some of the teams involved in the four European play-off paths, they have the potential to create some strong groups. Italy and Denmark would have been in pot two because of their world rankings had they qualified directly, while Wales would have been in pot three. The six play-off paths are:Uefa Play-off A: Italy, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern IrelandAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUefa Play-off B: Ukraine, Poland, Albania, SwedenUefa Play-off C: Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo, RomaniaUefa Play-off D: Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, North MacedoniaFifa Play-off 1: DR Congo, Jamaica, New CaledoniaFifa Play-off 2: Iraq, Bolivia, SurinameHow will the draw work?The 12 groups will include one team from each of the four pots. Fifa will start by drawing the teams from pot one. Co-hosts Mexico (A1), Canada (B1) and the United States (D1) will have coloured balls with their flags on to denote their special status.