FIFA is staging the countdown to the biggest World Cup in history on Friday. The groups will be drawn at 18:00 (Swiss time) in the USA. Switzerland is in pot 2.
05.12.2025, 05:00
05.12.2025, 17:49
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- The draw for the World Cup groups will take place in the USA on Friday at 6pm. Switzerland is in pot 2.
- Murat Yakin's team faces the threat of heavyweights such as defending champions Argentina, European champions Spain, France and Brazil, especially in Pot 1.
- The situation in pot 4 is explosive, with not only the supposedly small players but possibly also Italy if the "Squadra Azzurra" can still qualify via the play-offs.
When the balls roll before a World Cup, the tournament takes on a new face. For 2026, it is a gigantic one. Unlike the compact desert World Cup in Qatar four years ago, a continent-spanning event of superlatives awaits: 48 teams, three host countries and 16 venues in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
From desert state to continent
The contrast could hardly be greater. Instead of a "World Cup of short distances" with just one metropolis, as Doha was, the 2026 finals will be a logistical challenge with enormous distances and different time zones. The images that will flicker across the screens during the group draw on Friday will no longer show just one skyline, but the diversity of North America - from the beaches of Miami to the mountain ranges of Mexico and the west coast of Canada.
In sporting terms, Switzerland, ranked number 17 in the world, faces a tough test. Murat Yakin's team will avoid eleven direct rivals in the group draw in Washington D.C., including Croatia, Uruguay and Colombia, who are also in Pot 2. However, a heavyweight from the first pot awaits. A clash with defending champions Argentina, European champions Spain, France or Brazil is possible.
Return of the "Generation 98"
The draw also offers room for football romance. Three European teams are returning to the world stage after almost three decades: Norway, Austria and Scotland are back for the first time since the 1998 World Cup in France. Norway in particular made the headlines. Led by superstar Erling Haaland, the Scandinavians impressively ended their 28-year drought and ousted Italy in the play-offs.
Michael Gregoritsch also attracted attention. The former Bundesliga striker, who describes his career as a "rollercoaster ride" and was often on the bench at Brøndby in the Danish league, sent his country to the World Cup with the decisive goal in a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Austrian celebrated his goal not with a toned pose, but with a demonstrative grip on his "belly fat". Gregoritsch, who describes himself with a wink as one of the slowest players, triumphantly dictated into the microphones: "Sometimes it's not only important how high the fat value is."
Advocaat and the miracle of the small island
In addition to the returnees, real exotics provide color. First and foremost Curaçao. The Caribbean state is smaller in area than the canton of Obwalden and, with around 155,000 inhabitants, only slightly more populous than the canton of Zug. It is the smallest World Cup participant in history. The miracle was made possible by 78-year-old Dick Advocaat.
The Dutch coach, who will be competing in his third World Cup as coach this summer, has triggered a wave of euphoria on the island. He described the change impressively to "Voetbal International": "When we started, there were 100 people in the stadium. Now there are always 10,000."
With Cape Verde, at least a second island nation will be able to experience its World Cup premiere. Jordan and Uzbekistan will also be able to compete with the world's football elite for the first time.
The hurdles in pot 4
The situation in the fourth pot is explosive. It is not only the supposedly small players who are in this pot, but also the placeholders for decisions yet to be made. One such placeholder could become a major threat: Italy. The four-time world champions still have to survive the play-offs in March. Northern Ireland awaits in the semi-final, Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina in a possible final. Should the "Squadra Azzurra" fail, it would be the third time in a row that they have missed out on a World Cup.
The winners of the intercontinental play-offs will also end up in this pot. These decisions will not be made until the end of March in a tournament in Mexico, where Jamaica, New Caledonia and Iraq, among others, will compete for the last two tickets.
New mode and protected paths
The mechanics of the draw follow new rules. The 48 teams will be divided into twelve groups of four (A to L). The following applies: a maximum of two European teams per group, all other continental associations may only be represented once. An interesting innovation concerns the supposedly big teams: the seeding list has been designed in such a way that the top favorites Argentina and Spain - provided they win their groups - can meet in the final at the earliest.
For Switzerland, the main thing on Friday evening is to clarify their opponents. But anyone who wants to book flights and hotels straight away is likely to be disappointed. As in 2022, the pairings will be known immediately after the draw, but not the exact match times and stadium allocations.
As the matches will be played in 16 stadiums and the distances involved are huge, FIFA will only finalize the match schedule after the draw in order to optimize travel for teams and fans within the regional clusters. It will not be clear until the weekend whether the national team will play in the sweltering heat of Monterrey, in rainy Seattle or in one of the major cities on the east coast.
The draw pots at a glance
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).
