Spain-Argentina and France-England will be kept apart before the final by the World Cup draw

FIFA released the draw process on Tuesday, meaning that France will not play England before the World Cup final — assuming they win their groups — and Spain will not play Argentina.

By placing the top-ranked team (Spain) and number two (Argentina, the world champions) in opposite ends of the bracket, as well as the third-ranked team (France) and fourth-ranked team (England), the regulation seeks to preserve competitive balance in the 48-team format.

For the first time in the tournament’s history, if the top four seeded nations win their groups, they will not be allowed to face until the semi-finals.

The amended match schedule, which includes stadiums and kickoff times, will be made public on December 6. The 2026 World Cup draw is scheduled for December 5 in Washington.

In Pot 1, which also contains Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, are the hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Croatia, Morocco, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia are all included in Pot 2.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, and Uzbekistan will all be part in Pot 3.

Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the champions of the FIFA Play-Off tournaments 1 and 2 as well as the European play-offs A, B, C, and D will make up Pot 4.

Confederation restrictions will be in effect, meaning that no group—aside from UEFA, which has 16 representatives and can include up to two teams in a group—can have more than one team from the same region.

The U.S., Mexico, and Canada competition begins on June 11 and ends in New Jersey on July 19.