2026 World Cup draw just revealed who Canada will play in the group stage

The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has revealed the groups for this tournament.

Here's what you need to know, including who Canada will play in the group stage and who the men's national team could face in the next round.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is taking place in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with Toronto and Vancouver as the Canadian host cities.

As one of the host nations, Canada automatically qualified for the tournament.

Currently, 42 nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, and there are still six open spots.

Four teams will come from the UEFA play-offs, which include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Türkiye, Ukraine and Wales.

The other two spots will be decided at the Play-Off Tournament that includes Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.

Now, let's get into how the World Cup draw works.

There are four pots based on FIFA rankings, and teams from Pot 1 are drawn and put into groups A to L.

The draw continues in that order with Pots 2, 3 and 4 until all the spots are filled.

Canada is in Pot 1 with Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

In Pot 2, there are Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia.

Pot 3 has Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

Then, in Pot 4, there are Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, and New Zealand, along with European Play-Off A, B, C and D, and FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1 and 2.

Canada is in Group B and will play European Play-Off A (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, or Bosnia and Herzegovina), Qatar and Switzerland in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Here's how the other groups have been drawn:

• Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic, and European Play-Off D (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia or Republic of Ireland)
• Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland
• Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, and European Play-Off C (Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo)
• Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ecuador
• Group F: Netherlands, Japan, European Play-Off B (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania), and Tunisia
• Group G: Belgium, Egypt, IR Iran, and New Zealand
• Group H: Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay
• Group I: France, Senegal, Play-Off Tournament 2 (Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname), and Norway
• Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan
• Group K: Portugal, Play-Off Tournament 1 (Congo DR, Jamaica or New Caledonia), Uzbekistan, and Colombia
• Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama

If Canada is the winner of Group B, the round of 32 match will be against a third-place team from Group E/F/G/I/J.

If Canada is the runner-up in Group B, the team will play the Group A runner-up in the round of 32.

There is also the potential for Canada to play the Group D winner if it's one of the best third-place group stage teams.

The opening match of the 2026 World Cup is scheduled for Thursday, June 11, and the final is scheduled for Sunday, July 19.

Seven games will be played in Vancouver (five group stage matches, one round of 32 match and one round of 16 match), and six games will be played in Toronto (five group stage matches and one round of 32 match).

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.