Türkiye awaits possible opponents in 2026 World Cup draw

The draw will be held tomorrow at 20:00 Türkiye time in Washington, the capital of the United States.

If the Turkish national football team qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their potential opponents will also become clear after this draw, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

So far, approximately 2 million tickets have been sold for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The stadiums and kickoff times for the matches will be announced on Saturday, following the draw.

For the first time in history, 48 teams will participate in the World Cup. So far, 42 countries have secured their place in the tournament.

The countries that have qualified and will be included in the draw are as follows:

Canada, Mexico, USA, Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Curaçao, Haiti, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland.

The remaining six spots will be filled by four teams from the UEFA playoffs and two teams from the intercontinental playoff stage.

Türkiye’s national team will face Romania in the playoff semifinals. The semifinals will be played in a single-elimination format. If Türkiye eliminates Romania at home, they will play away in the playoff final against the winner of Slovakia–Kosovo for a place in the tournament.
Semifinals will be played on 26 March 2026, and finals on 31 March 2026.

If Türkiye qualifies, it will be placed in Pot 4 in the World Cup draw.

Host nations Canada, Mexico, and the USA are in Pot 1, and the remaining 39 teams have been placed into four pots of 12 teams each, based on FIFA rankings.

To ensure competitive balance, FIFA has designed the draw paths so that the top-ranked team (Spain) will not meet the second-ranked team (Argentina) before the final, and similarly, the third (France) and fourth (England) teams cannot meet before the final.

No group will include more than one team from the same confederation—except for UEFA, which has 16 teams in the tournament. Each group must include at least one and at most two UEFA teams.

The tournament will be held 11 June – 19 July 2026. The pots are as follows:

Pot 1

Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany

Pot 2

Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia

Pot 3

Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

Pot 4

Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand,

UEFA Play-Off A (Italy–Northern Ireland / Wales–Bosnia and Herzegovina),

UEFA Play-Off B (Ukraine–Sweden / Poland–Albania),

UEFA Play-Off C (Türkiye–Romania / Slovakia–Kosovo),

UEFA Play-Off D (Denmark–North Macedonia / Czechia–Republic of Ireland),

FIFA Intercontinental Play-Off 1 (New Caledonia–Jamaica / DR Congo),

FIFA Intercontinental Play-Off 2 (Bolivia–Suriname / Iraq)