The latest
• Draw ceremony underway: Most of the 48 nations competing for the ultimate prize in international soccer will have their group announced today for the opening stages of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada.
• A political dimension: President Donald Trump is on hand for today’s draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He’s widely expected to win the newly created FIFA Peace Prize.
What fans in Mexico are saying about the World Cup games in their country
World Cup fans in Mexico City tell CNN’s Valeria León they think Mexico will make a great host and tourism will help boost the economy.
Hear what they said:
FIFA president Gianni Infantino enters the stage for opening speech
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is out on stage delivering his opening speech to the Kennedy Center and the billions watching at home.
As he gets started, he gives a special welcome to Donald and Melania Trump who are both in the audience, before turning his attention to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Infantino has been criticized heavily by some in recent years, but he’s clearly feeling upbeat for next year’s tournament, calling the World Cup the “greatest event mankind will ever see.”
No pressure, then.
The World Cup draw ceremony has begun in style
Here we go then, the moment billions of soccer fans worldwide have been waiting for.
The ceremony in Washington, DC has kicked off with a performance from Andrea Bocelli who is belting out a lovely rendition of “Nessun Dorma” from the opera Turandot around the Kennedy Center.
Quite the start and plenty more to look forward to.
Analysis: US fans, have no fear
US men’s national team (USMNT) fans have every reason to be excited ahead of today’s draw — and indeed confident ahead of next year’s tournament.
Mauricio Pochettino’s squad has been quietly improving in recent times. The team’s unbeaten in its last five matches and recently beat Uruguay 5-1.
Many of the US’ leading players, such as Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic, now play for some of Europe’s top clubs. The US reached the final eight in 2002 but has failed to scale those heights since.
As a World Cup co-host, the burden of expectation to change that narrative next year will be nothing short of immense.
"We're not anxious on who it's going to be," says US captain Tim Ream
CNN caught up with USMNT captain Tim Ream before today’s World Cup draw and the veteran defender is excited to see who his team will be drawn against later.
The 38-year-old is used to facing the world’s best players after his time at English Premier League club Fulham and he’s not worried about who the US could come up against.
“We are excited to find out who we play because then the real preparation is there, we’re thinking about how tangible these games are coming up,” he said.
“We’re not anxious on who it’s going to be, or if it’s the best team in the world or someone who is very small. We are just excited to be a part of it.”
While US may not be favorite to win the World Cup, the hope is a good showing at the tournament will help boost the sport’s popularity at home.
“Imagine a Super Bowl being played every single day for a month, but not just one Super Bowl, multiple Super Bowls across the country. It’s an exciting time,” Ream addded.
A moose, a jaguar and a bald eagle are 2026 FIFA World Cup mascots
The hosts countries’ mascots are here!
Meet the motley crew: Canada’s Maple the Moose, Mexico’s Zayu the Jaguar, and the United States’ Clutch the Bald Eagle.
Trump arrives on the red carpet alongside FIFA president
Much has been made of the relationship between Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino in the run-up to next year’s tournament.
Critics say its too close for comfort and that FIFA is cozying up to the US government at the expense of political neutrality but, despite the noise, the pair have arrived at today’s ceremony together.
Both are expected on stage, with Trump widely tipped to receive FIFA’s Peace Prize.
Objective is to "win the World Cup," US manager Pochettino tells CNN Sports
US manager Mauricio Pochettino cut a relaxed figure the day before the World Cup draw.
“I think it’s going to be a unique event – we are going to host the most unbelievable tournament in the world, the World Cup,” he told CNN Sports.
The 53-year-old manager was appointed in September 2024 and has experienced mixed fortunes so far.
Now, though, the team seems to be on an upward trajectory and Pochettino hopes his team can put together a deep run at the tournament.
“Our objective is going to be to win the first game, and then the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and try to win the World Cup.”
Leaders of all three co-hosts to attend World Cup draw
It won’t just be Donald Trump attending the ceremony in Washington, DC.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have also confirmed they will be in attendance.
It will be fascinating to see how the three leaders interact before, during and after the draw given relationships between Trump and the two other co-host nations have been strained in the buildup to this tournament.
Watch more:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw is taking place in Washington DC, where it is rumored that President Donald Trump will be the recipient of FIFA's inaugural peace prize. CNN's Don Riddell reports.
Sporting legends are set to conduct the World Cup draw
When we do eventually get to the draw itself, the process will be undertaken by an array of sporting icons.
Conducting the draw is former England and Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand, who will be assisted on stage by international broadcaster Samantha Johnson.
The pair will be helped on stage by NFL legend Tom Brady, NHL icon Wayne Gretzky, MLB superstar Aaron Judge and Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in what FIFA describes as a “remarkable crossover of global sporting greats.”
Who is set to feature at next year's World Cup?
Who is set to feature at next year’s World Cup? Amanda Davies has you covered.
In the run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, CNN’s Amanda Davies looks at some of the old and new soccer stars aiming to leave their mark on the tournament.
Record-breaking World Cup 2026 in numbers
Next year’s World Cup is set to be very different than normal. Take a look at the important numbers that will make this tournament so unique.
48: the total of teams that will play at this edition of the World Cup, a new record. Since 1998, the tournament has been limited to 32 competing nations.
104: the number of matches that will be played across the tournament, including the final at East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium – temporarily re-named during the competition to the New York New Jersey Stadium for sponsorship purposes – on July 19.
3: the number of cohosts for next year’s competition – the United States, Canada and Mexico.
16: the total number of stadiums across those nations that will host matches.
2,000,000: roughly the amount of tickets FIFA says it has sold in the first two sale phases.
Take a look back at 18-year-old Messi at the 2006 World Cup draw
Was this really 20 years ago? Lionel Messi was just 18 years old when we spoke in Germany at the draw in 2005 ahead of his first World Cup.
Little did I know then that this prodigious teenager from Rosario, Argentina, would go on to become one of the greatest players of all time, ultimately captaining his country to victory at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Inter Miami star is yet to officially confirm whether he’ll play in next year’s tournament, but if he does, it’ll be a joint-record sixth World Cup exactly two decades on from his first.
Human Rights Watch criticizes FIFA Peace Price award
At some point during the ceremony, FIFA will present its first ever Peace Prize to someone it says has taken “exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”
It seems very likely the award will be presented to US President Donald Trump.
The prospect has been heavily criticized by human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, who argue that the relationship between FIFA and the US government is getting too close for comfort.
“FIFA’s so-called peace prize is being awarded against a backdrop of violent detentions of immigrants, national guard deployments in US cities, and the obsequious cancellation of FIFA’s own anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns,” said Minky Worden, who oversees sport for Human Rights Watch.
“The FIFA Peace Prize is a dangerous distraction from these serious human rights abuses taking place in the United States.”
Read more about the controversial Peace Prize here.
Which stadiums will be hosting World Cup matches
Here is a map of the 16 stadiums that will host the 104 matches at next year’s World Cup.
Important to note that the stadiums will be officially named after the city they are situated in for the World Cup, due to sponsorship reasons, e.g. MetLife Stadium will be known as New York New Jersey Stadium throughout the tournament.
Brilliant Spain the early favorite for 2026 World Cup title
It’s notoriously tricky to predict a World Cup champion, let alone before a ball has even been kicked.
But the early signs are that Spain has the best odds of getting its hands on the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The team is stacked with world class talent, led by the prodigal Lamine Yamal, who is one of the best players on the planet.
Spain is also the defending European champion and current world No. 1 which is why the team is an early favorite for next year’s tournament.
But La Roja will face tough competition from the likes of France and England, who both breezed through qualifying without much trouble.
And you probably can’t rule out defending champion Argentina, despite some of its better players from Qatar 2022 now well past their best.
Keep an eye on… England won all eight of its qualifying matches and the Three Lions didn’t concede a single goal.
Village People among the star-studded World Cup draw lineup
It’s going to be quite the show once the draw gets underway at noon ET.
FIFA announced earlier this week that model Heidi Klum and comedian Kevin Hart are set to co-host the event.
They will also be joined by actor Danny Ramirez who will be speaking to soccer greats and luminaries throughout the ceremony.
But no draw would be complete without some music and FIFA has that covered as well.
Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger will all be performing, before the Village People will close the ceremony with a rendition of their hit “Y.M.C.A.”
The song has been embraced by Donald Trump in recent years after it became synonymous with his presidential campaign rallies.
What are the odds that Trump will be on stage doing his signature dance during the performance?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo set to say goodbye to World Cup
Next year’s World Cup will (almost definitely) be the last chance to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play on the biggest stage of all.
Ronaldo has already told CNN that this will be his last World Cup, and surely the same can be said for 38-year-old Messi.
The Argentine legend has yet to commit to even playing at next year’s tournament, but it’s hard to see the forward not having one last dance.
Messi, of course, added the World Cup to his glittering trophy cabinet in 2022 – something that confirmed his status for many fans as the best player to ever play the “Beautiful Game.”
That perhaps stoked a fire in Ronaldo to have one last attempt at winning the prize for his beloved Portugal.
In truth, though, neither of the players are at the peak of their powers but many will savor the opportunity to see their heroes one last time.
Where the US team stands heading into the World Cup draw
Being a USMNT fan over the past few years must have been confusing.
Throw back to 2024 and things were looking up. The excitement around playing in a home World Cup only intensified after the appointment of world-class coach Mauricio Pochettino.
But it took a while for the Argentine manager to get settled and the team started to struggle. Back in June, with a year before the tournament to go, the US was winless in its previous eight games against European opposition and on a four-match losing streak in all competitions.
There was obvious pressure around Pochettino’s job before green shoots of optimism started to emerge (just in time, too) for the current world No. 14.
Fast-forward to now and the Americans are unbeaten in their last five games, most recently thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in a friendly.
“We are in a very good place, we are in a place where none believed we could be a few months ago,” Pochettino recently said at a US Soccer Summit in New York.
Make no mistake, this US outfit is not likely to win the tournament, but it will be hoping to make it through to knockout stages and keep growing the sport’s popularity at home.
Here's what makes this World Cup so different
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, CNN’s Amanda Davies looks at what makes next year’s tournament unique.
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, CNN's Amanda Davies looks at what makes next year’s tournament unique.
