The Athletic's writers look ahead to the 2026 World Cup, after the 12 groups were drawn in Washington DC on Friday

Follow live coverage as teams are drawn for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tournament will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer.

FIFA's World Cup draw will be Friday, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino will decide which countries will play each other in the initial rounds of the tournament.

The first game of the World Cup will be co-hosts Mexico v South Africa. That was the same opening game in 2010 when South Africa were the hosts. It ended 1-1. Speaking of France playing Senegal, here's highlights of when Les Bleus were stunned by the African side in 2002.

The draw for the biggest World Cup in history was probably the cringiest as the two-hour event didn't feature much soccer.

The United States will face Australia, Paraguay and a European playoff winner in group stage play when the tournament opens next summer.

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.

With the matchups for the FIFA World Cup 2026 almost set, eager fans can finally purchase tickets for the world's biggest sporting event. Two Texas cities are hosting World Cup games: AT&T Stadium in Dallas (Arlington,