WASHINGTON – The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump announced Friday afternoon.
What we know:
The 2026 World Cup draw will be held at the Kennedy Center at noon on December 5.
US President Donald Trump makes an announcement from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 22, 2025 as Vice President JD Vance (L), FIFA president Gianni Infantino (2nd R) and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (R) look
What they’re saying:
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest, most complex set of events in sports history, and the Kennedy Center will give it a phenomenal kickoff,” Trump said Friday.
“We are uniting the world, Mr. President, uniting the world here, in America. And we’re very proud of that,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino added.
When is the 2026 World Cup?
Timeline:
The 2026 World Cup will be played at 16 stadiums in the U.S., Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 next year, a tournament expanded to 48 nations and 104 games. All matches from the quarterfinals on will be in the U.S., with the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
What is the World Cup draw?
Dig deeper:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will determine which teams compete against each other in the early stages of the tournament.
The World Cup will feature 12 groups of four teams. The teams in each group play each other and the top two will advance to a knockout stage. The eight best third-place teams will also advance. The knockouts will be played from the round of 32 to the final.
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