Klum and Trump at the draw Everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup

Switzerland has qualified for the World Cup for the sixth time in a row. 6 of the 48 World Cup tickets are still up for grabs. blue News provides you with the most important facts about the XXL World Cup 2026.

For the first time, a World Cup will be held in three countries. Canada, Mexico and the USA will host the first World Cup with 48 teams. The opening match will take place on June 11, 2026 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, while the World Cup final will be held on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in the US state of New Jersey.

The draw for the World Cup groups will take place on December 5 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.. The draw will begin at 6 p.m. in Switzerland (12 p.m. local time). Six lots will be unnamed, as the draw will take place before the playoff games.

Heidi Klum will play a leading role. The German supermodel will co-host the event with US actor and comedy star Kevin Hart and actor Danny Ramirez, according to FIFA. In addition to Klum and her co-presenters, FIFA is also focusing on entertainment with world stars. Performances by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and pop star Robbie Williams accompanied by Nicole Scherzinger are planned. Once the draw is complete, the band Village People will also entertain the global audience of millions with their worldwide hit "Y.M.C.A.".

According to information from the White House, US President Donald Trump also wants to attend the event. There had recently been speculation that the 79-year-old Republican could receive the new FIFA Peace Prize at the ceremony.

The draw pots at a glance

Lottery 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.

Lottery pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, UEFA Playoff A (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina), UEFA Playoff B (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Albania), UEFA Playoff C (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Kosovo), UEFA Playoff D (Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Ireland), FIFA Playoff 1 (New Caledonia, Jamaica, Democratic Republic of Congo), FIFA Playoff 2 (Bolivia, Suriname, Iraq).

Yes, the Swiss national team has qualified for a World Cup for the sixth time in a row after 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. In these appearances, Switzerland were eliminated in the round of 16 four times, with 2010 ending after the group stage. This will be Switzerland's 13th appearance at the World Cup. Switzerland reached the quarter-finals in 1934, 1938 and the 1954 home World Cup.

After the November international matches, 42 of the 48 World Cup participants have been determined. The remaining six World Cup tickets will be contested in the play-offs.

In Europe, 12 of the 16 World Cup participants have been determined. The twelve group runners-up and the four best-placed Nations League group winners who have not yet qualified for the World Cup take part in the play-offs. There are two rounds to get through. Example: Italy must first get Northern Ireland out of the way and then face the winner of the Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina clash away from home.

Two World Cup tickets will be awarded in the intercontinental play-offs, in which six teams will take part. Iraq and Congo - the two nations from the sextet ranked highest in the FIFA world rankings in November - are each seeded for one of the two play-off finals. Congo will face the winner of New Caledonia v Jamaica. Iraq will play the winner of the match between Bolivia and Suriname. The World Cup play-off tournament will be played in Guadalajara and Monterrey.

A total of 16 cities will host the games, eleven of which will be in the USA: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and New York. Mexico will be represented by Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, while the Canadian host cities will be Vancouver and Toronto. The venues will be divided into three zones (West, Central and East), with each team playing its matches in only one zone during the preliminary round.

There are twelve groups of four in which everyone plays against everyone else. The top two in each group and the top eight of the twelve third-placed teams qualify for the round of 16. The winners progress to the next round, while the losers are eliminated. Only the losers of the semi-finals remain in the tournament and play in the match for third place. There are 104 matches in total.

Ticket sales are divided into several phases. After an initial pre-sale was only open to VISA credit card holders, the first official phase allowed interested parties to register to take part in a lottery. The second phase was reserved for residents of the host countries and took place from November 12 to 15. In the third phase, since November 17, those who have registered for the lottery will be informed whether they will be given a time slot to purchase tickets. The fourth phase will start after the group draw on December 5, and last-minute tickets will still be available to buy in the final phase next spring.

The cheapest tickets for a group game cost around 60 dollars (48 CHF), but only a few of these are available. The cheapest ticket for the final is 2030 dollars (1615 CHF), the most expensive is expected to cost over 6000 dollars (4775 CHF). For the first time, Fifa will also be offering its own resale platform, from which it will earn a lot of money if the ticket holder changes. But it's not just the tickets that are expensive, the costs for travel and accommodation are also a burden on the wallet. There can also be hefty parking fees.

Cost: 175 US dollarsFIFA is also charging for parking at the 2026 World Cup