2026 FIFA World Cup Draw & Final Pools - Bafana Bafana secure opener against Mexico

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 2 hours ago

Ralph Staniforth 2 hours ago

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw featured 48 teams, marking a new era
Key matchups include France vs Norway and England vs Croatia
Spain leads betting odds followed by England, France, Brazil & Argentina

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw has been made in Washington DC (Getty)

The draw has been concluded and the groups are set as the 48 team era begins at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There are plenty of historical rematches and individual battles between football's biggest stars.

The tournament will get underway on June 11 with Mexico taking on South Africa at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Group	Team 1	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4
A	Mexico	South Korea	South Africa	Winner Play-off D
B	Canada	Switzerland	Qatar	Winner Play-off A
C	Brazil	Morocco	Scotland	Haiti
D	United States	Australia	Paraguay	Winner Play-off C
E	Germany	Ecuador	Ivory Coast	Curaçao
F	Netherlands	Japan	Tunisia	Winner Play-off B
G	Belgium	Iran	Egypt	New Zealand
H	Spain	Uruguay	Saudi Arabia	Cape Verde
I	France	Senegal	Norway	Winner Play-off 2
J	Argentina	Austria	Algeria	Jordan
K	Portugal	Colombia	Uzbekistan	Winner Play-off 1
L	England	Croatia	Panama	Ghana

Here are the key matchups in the group stage:

Group I - Kylian Mbappe vs Erling Haaland

France vs Norway features two of the best strikers in football, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Mbappe went close to guiding Lea Bleus to a dramatic win in the 2022 World Cup final and Haaland is finally arriving on the grandest stage.

Group C - The Group of Death

Brazil are perennial favorites at the World Cup and Morocco proved they can compete on the highest level, reaching the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago. Scotland stunned Denmark and Greece to qualify automatically and Haiti will have no fear.

Group L - England vs Croatia

England have been drawn against Croatia in Group L, setting up a rematch of the Three Lions' heartbreaking 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat in Moscow.

Group A - Mexico vs South Africa

Mexico opens the tournament against South Africa, a direct replay of the opening match in the 2010 World Cup. El Tri will hope for a better result than the 1-1 draw in Johannesburg.

2026 World Cup Odds

Spain should have few problems topping Group H and remain the favourites. England seem short with France, Brazil and Argentina all close behind in the betting market.

Odds are from Betway and correct as of 5 December 2026.

Team	Odds
Spain	5.50
England	7.00
France	8.50
Brazil	9.00
Argentina	9.50
Portugal	13.00
Germany	15.00
Netherlands	23.00
Norway	30.00
Belgium	50.00
Colombia	51.00
Uruguay	60.00
USA	80.00
Ecuador	80.00
Mexico	100.00
Croatia	100.00
Morocco	101.00
Japan	120.00
Switzerland	140.00
Austria	200.00
Senegal	201.00
Canada	250.00
Paraguay	300.00
Ivory Coast	300.00
Egypt	300.00
Scotland	350.00
Algeria	400.00
South Korea	500.00
Ghana	500.00
Australia	501.00
Iran	501.00
Tunisia	501.00
South Africa	750.00
Panama	1000.00
Saudi Arabia	1000.00
Qatar	1000.00
New Zealand	1000.00
Uzbekistan	1500.00
Jordan	2000.00
Cape Verde	2000.00
Curacao	3000.00
Haiti	5000.00