when does the world cup draw take place

The 2026 World Cup draw will take place on Friday, 5 December 2025, at 12:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. GMT) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Key details

• Date: 5 December 2025 (a Friday).

• Time: Noon Eastern Time (12:00 p.m. ET), which is 5:00 p.m. GMT and 9:00 a.m. PT.

• Location: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., United States.

How the draw works

• The tournament will feature an expanded field of 48 teams split into 12 groups of four.

• The draw uses seeded pots, with teams allocated based on rankings and confederation rules to avoid most same‑confederation clashes in a group.

• Hosts United States, Mexico, and Canada are pre‑assigned to groups (Mexico in Group A, Canada in Group B, USA in Group D) and will learn only their opponents in the draw.

What teams learn that day

• On draw day, qualified teams will find out their group opponents and the order of their group matches.

• Venue and exact kickoff times for most matches are released about a day later, in a separate schedule announcement.

Latest news and forum‑style context

• The expanded 48‑team format and 12‑group structure remain active talking points among fans, with many debating whether the new format improves competitiveness or dilutes quality.

• Online discussions and newsletters highlight interest in how travel logistics across the three host countries and seeding quirks might create “groups of death” or easier paths for top seeds.

In forum threads and fan chats, the phrase “when does the World Cup draw take place” keeps popping up as excitement builds toward early December 2025, when the road to 2026 officially becomes visible.

TL;DR: The 2026 World Cup draw takes place on Friday, 5 December 2025, at 12:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. GMT) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.