Fifa to keep top seeds apart in expanded 2026 World Cup draw

ZURICH – FIFA revealed on Tuesday that the top four seeded nations at the 2026 World Cup will occupy two separate halves of the draw for the expanded 48-team tournament, meaning they could avoid facing each other until the semi-final stage.

Top-ranked Spain and World Cup holders Argentina, the second seeds, will be drawn into opposite halves of the draw, and the same will apply to third-ranked France and world number four England.

This will ensure that, should they both win their groups, the two highest ranked teams will be kept apart until the final.

On Tuesday, FIFA published the four pots into which the 48 qualified teams will be placed, as well as the procedures for the World Cup draw which will take place on December 5 in Washington DC.

The top four nations are all placed in Pot 1 along with the three host nations – Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The draw will begin with the 12 teams in Pot 1, which includes Germany, who narrowly retained their seeded status. The process will then continue with Pots 2, 3, and 4, in that order, FIFA explained.

Six more World Cup spots remain to be filled among the 18 nations still in contention through the play-offs in March.

Italy, four-time World Cup winners and 12th in the FIFA rankings, are in the play-offs and could find themselves, if they qualify, in Pot 4.

Debutants Uzbekistan are in Pot 3, with fellow first-timers Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao in Pot 4.

In other news, Cristiano Ronaldo avoided the potential of missing the tournament due to suspension when FIFA instead levied a one-year probationary period for the Portugal star on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, 40, was issued a red card during Portugal’s 2-0 loss to the Republic of Ireland on Nov 13.

FIFA handed him a three-match ban on Tuesday for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O’Shea, with the final two games suspended for “a one-year probation period”.

That means Ronaldo will be eligible for Portugal’s opening two World Cup matches next year.

The incident against Ireland originally earned Ronaldo a yellow card. However, after the contact was reviewed by the referee on video, Ronaldo was sent off with the first red card of his international career.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee deemed the incident worthy of a three-game ban, extending the automatic one-game ban while suspending the additional two games for one year.

“If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately at the next official match(es) of the Portuguese representative team,” FIFA said in a statement.

“This is without prejudice to any additional sanctions imposed for the new infringement. The three-match suspension is subject to appeal to the FIFA Appeal Committee.”

Ronaldo served his mandatory one-game suspension when Portugal played host to Armenia in its final World Cup qualifier on Nov 16.

It is the first red card he has received in the record 226 games he has played for Portugal. He is in line to play in his sixth World Cup next summer.

“He is just a captain that has never been sent off before in 226 games,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said after the Ireland match. “I think it was a bit harsh because he cares about the team.” AFP, REUTERS

Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, United States, 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, South Africa

Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, European playoff winners A, B, C and D, Inter-confederation playoff winners 1 and 2