Football World Cup 2026: Austrian National Team in Pot 2 for Draw

After an unusually long wait, the world governing body FIFA announced the procedure for the grand draw show for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the John F. Kennedy Center on Tuesday. As a result, Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, and Australia are eliminated as possible opponents for the Austrian team.

Austrian Team Now Knows Possible Opponents at 2026 FIFA World Cup

In the top pot, alongside the three hosts, are Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. The third pot is formed with Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. For European play-off candidates like Italy or Denmark, FIFA did not introduce a new seeding rule, as was recently speculated. Therefore, they only land in pot four, making them likely the toughest challenge among the supposedly easiest opponents.

A new feature is that defending champions Argentina and European champions Spain, if they win their groups, will not play against each other until the final. Matches with France and England are only possible in the semifinals, provided these teams also win their groups. Nations from the same confederation cannot be in the same group, with the exception of Europe, where two teams are allowed. The tournament, comprising 48 teams, starts on June 11 and ends on July 19.

The Draw Pots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

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(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.