On Friday, 5 December (5pm GMT), participating teams and play-of teams will find out which pathway they must follow in their quest to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy in New York, New Jersey on Sunday, 19 July 2026.
The finals draw will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, with live performances from Andrea Bocelli, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and the Village People.
Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum and Danny Ramirez will be hosting the draw.
Cymru’s place in the FIFA World Cup finals will depend on success in their play-off pathway. Craig Bellamy’s side will face Bosnia & Herzegovina in the semi-final and will face either Italy or Northern Ireland should they progress to the final.
Draw pots and constraints
Cymru’s play-off pathway (European Play-Off A) has been placed in pot 4 for the draw.
In principle, no group will have more than one team from the same confederation drawn into it. This applies to all confederations except UEFA, which is represented by 16 teams. Each group must have at least one, but no more than two UEFA teams drawn into it.
The draw will begin with all the teams from pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It will then continue with pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.
The detailed draw procedures are available on FIFA.com.
Where to watch
The draw will be available to watch live on FIFA+ and through FIFA’s Media Partners.
Match schedule
While the Final Draw will determine which teams play each other in the group stage, the updated match schedule, including the stadium assigned to each match and the respective kick-off time, will be confirmed on Saturday 6 December.
The match allocation process that follows the draw aims to ensure the best possible conditions for all teams while, where possible, enabling fans all over the world to watch their teams play live across different time zones.
