2026 World Cup Draw.. Everything You Need to Know: Date and Broadcasting Channels

Football fans' interest is rising as the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony approaches, amid intensive search for the date and channels broadcasting the event that precedes the start of the World Cup next summer.

Sixty-four teams participate in the draw, including 42 teams that have officially qualified, while 16 European countries are still competing for four additional spots, in addition to six teams contesting the global playoffs to decide the last two available tournament slots.

The upcoming World Cup edition will witness the participation of the Egyptian national team led by Hossam Hassan, as they are placed among the third-seeded teams, marking a new appearance for the Pharaohs after missing the tournament since the 2018 edition.

Representing the Egyptian team at the draw ceremony are Khaled El-Derandly, Vice President of the Federation, head coach Hossam Hassan, and team manager Ibrahim Hassan, with a prominent official presence of the Egyptian delegation.

The draw activities begin today, Friday, at 7:00 PM Cairo time and 8:00 PM Mecca time, and will be broadcast on the exclusive channel “beIN Sports,” in addition to FIFA’s official website and the International Federation’s official YouTube channel.

The participating teams have been distributed into four pots to determine the 12 groups in the first round, with the first pot including the host countries Mexico, Canada, and the United States, alongside major teams like Argentina, France, Brazil, and Germany.

The second pot contains teams such as Morocco, Croatia, Japan, Senegal, and Australia, while the third pot includes Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Norway, South Africa, and others.

The fourth pot includes Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, New Zealand, Curaçao, in addition to the four teams coming from the European playoffs and the two teams qualifying from the global playoffs.