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

Quick Scoop

  • Start time:
    • 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time
    • 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time
    • 5:00 p.m. GMT
    • Late evening in much of Asia (around 10:30 p.m. IST)
  • Date and venue:
    • Date: Friday, 5 December 2025
    • Location: The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., USA
  • Broadcast vibe:
    • Framed as a full-on show-style ceremony rather than a quick pot draw, with global TV and streaming coverage and buildā€‘up in the hour before the actual draw begins.

In other words, the World Cup really ā€œstartsā€ for fans the moment those balls are drawn at noon on 5 December, when every group path becomes real.

TL;DR: If you want to watch from the start, be tuned in a few minutes before 12:00 p.m. ET on 5 December 2025; thatā€™s when the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony kicks off.

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