World Cup Draw: Winners, Losers & Group of Death

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, D.C. delivered major drama as 48 teams were placed into 12 groups.

sarah

Dec 6, 2025 - 21:59

World Cup Draw: Winners, Losers & Group of Death

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw—the biggest (and longest?) in the tournament's history—took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Let's just say a lot happened. Heads of state chose pre-determined balls, Rio Ferdinand showed off his best acting skills, and Lauryn Hill sang "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in front of a lot of confused, suit-clad FIFA members.

But as for the actual draw, there's a lot to discuss, as it gave us some very testy matches and great group action. With 48 national teams divided into 12 groups of four, there's a lot of room for error. So, without further ado, here are the winners and losers from Friday's FIFA World Cup draw.

Mauricio Pochettino probably left the Kennedy Center very happy, because the U.S. The U.S. Men's National Team will play Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo—all winnable matches. Just last month, the U.S. won 2-1 against Paraguay, and a month before that, they achieved the same result against Australia. Obviously, the competitive nature of the World Cup will provide a different environment, but I think the result will be the same.

As for the second match? I think Turkey and Real Madrid's Arda Guler will ultimately secure their spots as the remaining opponents, but the Americans still have enough to win this one.

Feliz Navidad, Poche. This is a great group for your team.

Spain. Frankly, if the European champions play as they should, this group should be very easy for Lamin Yamal and company, who played excellent football in most of the World Cup qualifiers.

La Roja's first match is against Saudi Arabia, the same team that stunned Argentina and Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022, but I don't think Luis de la Fuente's side will make the same mistakes. After that, it's a match against the Cinderella story of Cape Verde, then a game against Uruguay, who haven't been as strong in recent months under Marcelo Bielsa. (In fact, Bielsa wasn't even in the draw, and there's plenty of talk of major changes in the next few months.)

But as for Spain, they should win this group quite easily.

England, saying that their group (Croatia, Ghana, and Panama) is challenging and that Thomas Tuchel's team should be nervous and cautious is very English thinking. But that's how the British media starts talking about the Three Lions. However, now is the time to have some hope and expect success from the potential of this tremendously talented team.

Croatia is always difficult to beat, but they're also aging, as players like 40-year-old Luka Modric and 36-year-old Ivan Perisic can't control the game as much as they used to. This will be the toughest match of the group, but since it's the first match, I think England will come out strong to prove their point in this tournament. The venue is likely a major problem, as if it's in the Dallas area, they'll need to be wary of the temperatures, as Tuchel knows.

Meanwhile, Ghana has Premier League experience, but defensively, it won't be enough to dominate against this highly talented team, while Panama (for the second time in a World Cup after 2018), which relies heavily on experienced players, will have no problem.

There's a difference between arrogance and confidence, and Tuchel's England needs a dose of both to realize they're on track to win this group.

First, it's an opening game against Erling Haaland's Norway, who won every qualifier en route to the World Cup. After that, it's the winner of Bolivia, Iraq, or Suriname, ending with a game against Senegal, a country deeply connected to France, who also performed well in the qualifiers.

From a football perspective, it was 2002 when Senegal beat France 1-0 in the opener, and that meant the then-defending World Cup champions didn't make it out of the group. I'm not saying that will happen next summer, but even this extremely talented French team – the previous one led by Didier Deschamps – isn't as experienced in the competition as it used to be, as many experienced players have retired from international play.

We'll have to see if the French team can win the group and find an easy path to the knockout stage. If not, things will become more difficult.

There's a clear historical bias against Germany, a four-time World Cup champion, and so many believe Julian Nagelsmann's team will have easy success here, but their project remains to be determined. The qualifying campaign didn't start well, so there are still questions about the consistency that was once Die Mannschaft's hallmark.

Then you have a very strong and determined Ecuador, who finished second in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, their best performance since the region's campaign began as a single table.

Ivory Coast is also strong, returning for the first time since 2014, and remained unbeaten in the qualifiers without conceding a goal. They have very talented players who are also familiar with the German game.

Finally, Curaçao. Yes, the Caribbean island nation and the smallest country in World Cup history is undoubtedly a Cinderella story, but it's also a very promising project with a strong roster that can give anyone a tough time due to its large diaspora. Defensively strong, it's managed by the legendary Dick Advocaat, who has managed seven countries, including his own Netherlands, which he led to the quarter-finals in the USA in 1994. At 78, he will become the oldest manager to lead a team at the World Cup, and I'm sure both he and his team will be looking to pull off some upsets.