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Home / Sport / Football / Football World Cup

Fifa World Cup 2026 draw live updates: All Whites drawn with Belgium, Egypt and Iran

Cameron McMillan
Cameron McMillan
Deputy Head of Sport·NZ Herald·
5 Dec, 2025 07:54 PM4 mins to read

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Darren Bazeley gives his thoughts on New Zealand's World Cup pool, where they have been grouped with Belgium, Iran and Egypt. Video / NZF
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The All Whites have been grouped with world No 8 ranked Belgium, Egypt and Iran for the 2026 World Cup.

The draw for next year’s event took place in Washington DC with New Zealand being the last name drawn out of the 48 balls. They were placed in Group G and will open their World Cup campaign against Iran on June 15.

The match schedule will be announced tomorrow but New Zealand will be playing their matches on the west coast of the US and Canada with games in either Los Angeles, Seattle or Vancouver.

They will face Egypt, who should feature Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, on June 21 followed by the toughest group clash against Belgium on June 26.

Belgium failed to advance out of pool play in 2022 after finishing third four years earlier. Iran also didn’t advance in Qatar, with one win against Wales after opening the tournament with a 6-2 defeat to England. Egypt didn’t qualify for the last World Cup after losing all three group games in 2018. Like New Zealand, Egypt have never won a game at the Fifa World Cup.

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In other groups, co-hosts Mexico will open the tournament against South Africa, the same fixture as when South Africa was host in 2010. The sides will also face South Korea and then a Uefa playoff team of either the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark or North Macedonia.

In Group B, Canada have Qatar, Switzerland and either Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy or Northern Ireland from the Uefa playoffs.

The main hosts USA are in Group D with Australia, Paraguay and the winner of Uefa playoffs between Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey and Romania.

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England and Croatia, who met in the 2018 semi-finals, have been drawn in Group L together with Ghana and Panama.

Defending champions Argentina have Algeria, Austria and Jordan, with the home of the Dallas Cowboys the likely location for two of Lionel Messi’s games.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will kick off their tournament against a playoff team (DR Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia) in Houston or Mexico City in Group K, in which they will also play Uzbekistan and Colombia.

Five-time winners Brazil play 2022 semi-finalists Morocco as well as Scotland and Haiti in their group, while France take on Senegal, Norway and a qualifier from the playoffs in their group.

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The World Cup will feature 48 teams for the first time with six of those yet to be decided. Matches will take place in March to decide the final spots across Uefa and the Inter-confederation playoffs.

Which countries are hosting Fifa World Cup 2026?

The United States, Canada and Mexico are the co-hosts for the 2026 Fifa World Cup. The US last hosted the event in 1994 when Brazil beat Italy in the final after a penalty shootout. Mexico was host in 1970 and 1986 while Canada have never hosted the men’s World Cup.

How many teams are playing in the World Cup 2026?

For the first time the men’s Fifa World Cup will feature 48 nations. They will be split across 12 groups – Group A to Group L. The top two teams from each group with the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the knockout stages that begin with a round of 32.

Where will the World Cup 2026 final be held?

MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will host the Fifa World Cup final. The semi-finals will be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, and AT&T Stadium, Arlington.

Which cities are hosts for the World Cup 2026?

Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Vancouver, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Mexico City, Monterrey, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto.

Which teams have qualified for the World Cup 2026?

The following teams have qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

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AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan (debut), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan (debut)

CAF: Algeria, Cape Verde (debut), Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Concacaf: Canada (co-host), Mexico (co-host), United States (co-host), Panama, Haiti, Curacao.

Conmebol: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

OFC: New Zealand

Uefa: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Scotland.

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How can I watch the Fifa World Cup?

TVNZ have the New Zealand broadcasting rights to the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

All of the All Whites’ games, as well as select other fixtures, will be available free-to-air on TVNZ channels in a landmark move for football in New Zealand.

Football fans will also be able to purchase a one-off event pass to access every match at the tournament through TVNZ+ for the first time. The pricing has not been announced.

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