The playoff draw for the World Cup will be staged at FIFA’s Home of Football in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 a.m. ET (4 a.m. PT, 12 p.m. GMT). The draw for the Inter-confederation playoff will take place immediately before the process for UEFA’s teams gets underway.

Germany have moved into ninth place ahead in the latest FIFA men's rankings ahead of the 2026 World Cup draw, likely sealing a place in Pot 1 for the draw.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Sixteen host cities across North America, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Kansas City,

The top-seeded teams for the Dec. 5 World Cup tournament draw, including Germany but not Croatia, were set Wednesday when FIFA published new rankings.

2022 World Cup hosts Qatar are the most challenging Pot 4 side, although the USMNT would likely conquer the reigning Asian champions with little fuss. They won their only meeting with FIFA’s 52nd-ranked nation during the CONCACAF Gold Cup back in 2021.

The final World Cup participants won't be determined until March of 2026, following the draw for the World Cup groups. A playoff will take place in North America in March, including one team each from the following regions: AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, alongside two from Concacaf to determine the final two places in the World Cup.

ZURICH, Switzerland — The final six places for the 2026 World Cup will be determined by two playoff tournaments in March. Four more teams will qualify from Europe, along with two from the rest of the world. The UEFA playoffs will consist of 16 nations, while FIFA's intercontinental playoffs feature six.

England was the first European team to confirm its presence at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Six teams will play in the inter-confederation playoffs: one from CONMEBOL, one from Oceania, one from Asia, one from Africa, and two from CONCACAF.