The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw on Friday marked the beginning of the journey for teams across the globe hoping to hoist the coveted golden trophy \u2014 and giving the U.S. a grouping that could make victory easier next summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the drawing, the U.S. was placed into Group D with Australia, Paraguay, and the winner of playoff games between Kosovo, Romania, Turkey and Slovakia. American fans could expect the U.S. to have a good chance at coming out on top in this group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rest of the groups<\/a> and the full match schedule<\/a> are available on FIFA’s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event was held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where FIFA President Gianni Infantino decided by lottery which countries would play each other in the initial rounds of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infantino pulled balls representing individual nations out of four pots holding 12 balls each<\/a> to form the round robin groups that countries will compete within the first leg of the competition. The top two teams from each group will advance to the final elimination tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tournament is being jointly hosted next summer by the U.S., Mexico and Canada in a major first. U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were all in attendance at the drawing Friday as the leaders of the three host nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sports stars including Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O\u2019Neal also participated in the drawing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tournament next year will see four new countries compete<\/a>, including Cabo Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan, as the cup expands<\/a> from 32 teams to 48.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With nearly 2 million tickets already sold, the United States is preparing to co-host the international sporting event next summer. The tournament will be played from June 11 to July 19 at 16 sites across North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a press conference Thursday, Sean Duffy, the U.S. secretary of transportation, said the government is working to bolster transportation systems in advance of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “One of the biggest parts of what we do, though, is transit,” Duffy said. “We actually bring in additional assets to make sure we can move people seamlessly from the hotels in which they’re staying, getting them to the games, getting them there on time, safely.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first World Cup game will be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, June 12, with Team USA taking the pitch. Group stage will continue through the first two weeks across all three countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elimination rounds start with the round of 32. The semifinals will take place in Dallas and Atlanta. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, on Sunday, July 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some companies have touted early ticket offers for customers, like Verizon’s partnership with soccer legend David Beckham that provides golden tickets to customers for pitch-side access. Other options for purchase will roll out among various vendors now that the draw is set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I\u2019m so excited for the World Cup next year and know that all the spotlight of the greatest players in the world coming to play in the US, Mexico and Canada, will establish even more US based fans of the sport,” Beckham told ABC News. “My ambition has always been to make soccer in the U.S. as accessible as possible, for as many people as possible, and I hope the legacy of the World Cup will continue this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bank of America announced<\/a> a new offer with Visa on Friday giving an opportunity to clients who open a new Cash Rewards Visa credit card to purchase up to two tickets to select FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, while supplies last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Applicants who apply before Jan. 5, 2026 are eligible for the tickets starting Feb. 10, 2026, when they will receive an email to the FIFA ticket portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lottery for FIFA tickets<\/a> will open at 11 a.m. ET on Dec. 11 that fans can enter online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n