World Cup 2026 - When is the draw & who can Scotland get?

A general view of the World Cup trophy <i>(Image: Getty)</i>
A general view of the World Cup trophy (Image: Getty)
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Scotland are going to the 2026 World Cup.

Finally, after 28 years, the nation will return to the major tournament after so much heartache and failure since France '98.

Steve Clarke's side went down in history on Tuesday night for their 4-2 triumph over Denmark to top Group C.

In doing so, they booked one of the 48 spots at next summer's finals in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.

The tournament has been expanded from 32 teams to 48 for the first time. The majority of the 104 games will be staged in the USA (78), with Mexico and Canada hosting 13 each.

A full fixture list with kick-off times will be made available after this month's draw.

However, FIFA has already announced that the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, will play host to the curtain raiser on Thursday, June 11, with the final to take place at the New York New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium on Sunday, July 19.

Here is everything you need to know about the draw...

When is the 2026 World Cup draw?

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place TODAY on Friday, December 5.

It will be held in the capital city of America, Washington D.C.

It is scheduled to start at around 5pm GMT.

How does the draw work?

There will be 12 groups containing four teams drawn - one from each of the four pots.

Pot 1 - that will consist of the host countries, plus the nine top FIFA ranked nations who have qualified for the tournament.

The remaining pots, two, three and four, will contain the next best 12 ranked sides in order.

Aside from Europe, teams from the same confederation will be kept apart for the group stage. However, no group will contain more than two European nations.

The top two from each group automatically progresses to the last-32, while there will also be passage for the eight best third-placed teams.

Who makes up the Pots for the draw?

Pot 1

United States

Mexico

Canada

Spain

Argentina

France

England

Portugal

Brazil

Netherlands

Belgium

Germany

Pot 2

Croatia

Morocco

Colombia

Uruguay

Switzerland

Japan

Senegal

Iran

South Korea

Ecuador

Austria

Australia

Pot 3

Panama

Norway

Egypt

Algeria

Scotland

Paraguay

Ivory Coast

Tunisia

Uzbekistan

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Pot 4

Jordan

Cape Verde

Ghana

Curacao

Haiti

New Zealand

UEFA play-off (x4)

Confed play-off (x2)

When does the 2026 World Cup take place?

Group stage: June 11 - 27

Round of 32: June 28 - July 3

Round of 16: July 4 - 7

Quarter-finals: July 9 - 11

Semi-finals: July 14 - 15

Third-place play-off: July 18

Final: July 19

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