Next summer's event will be the first ever 48-team World Cup, with those nations being broken up into 12 groups of four. From there, 104 matches will be played at 16 venues across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to determine a World Cup champion.

Cristiano Ronaldo will head once more into the breach as the evergreen forward contests what will surely be his final World Cup with Portugal. Ronaldo will be 41 by the time the 2026 tournament kicks off in North America, but international football’s all-time record goal scorer retains his insatiable appetite for finding the back of the net.

The group stage has been set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here are the odds for each team to advance to the knockout stage.

The World Cup draw featured Gianni Infantino, Donald Trump and other host-nation leaders as FIFA unveiled the 12 four-team groups for next year's tournament.

Come on, they make me happy,” Trump said as he watched the Village People perform “YMCA,” according to an expert lip-reader.

Here is a ranking of the 2026 World Cup groups from easiest to toughest based on average FIFA World Rankings. Countries: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Intercontinental Playoff 1 Average FIFA ranking: 40.2 Highest-ranked team: Portugal (6)

The FIFA World Cup draw is at 11 a.m. CT Friday. Arlington's AT&T Stadium will host a tournament-high nine matches. Both the United States and Mexico

Scrutiny grows over the legality of continued US strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Trump is expected to meet on the sidelines of the World Cup draw with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.

After co-hosts USA, Mexico and Canada, Japan were the first nation to qualify for the World Cup with a dominant performance throughout qualifying. The Samurai Blue won six of their seven matches in the AFC third round of qualifying, sealing their spot at the World Cup in March with three group games to spare.