Football World Cup 2026: Which Pot for the Draw with Austria?

After securing World Cup qualification, Austria's national football team can look forward to the final draw on December 5. It remains unclear whether the ÖFB team will be drawn from the second or third pot in Washington. According to speculation, a change in the seeding is being considered by the world federation FIFA - which would be to Austria's disadvantage. According to the previous regulations, David Alaba and Co. would still be drawn from the second pot. However, this is likely to change.

Austria in Pot Three for Football World Cup Draw?

Everything depends on whether the play-off winners, as was the case in the World Cup draw for the 2022 finals, automatically move to the fourth pot. As recently speculated, FIFA might implement a rule change - namely that the seeding of the play-off winners is based on the highest-ranked team in the world rankings. Accordingly, the winner of the path with four-time world champion Italy, as well as the one with Denmark, would land ahead of Austria.

Fundamentally, the pot allocation is based on the position in the FIFA world rankings. Twelve participants are in each pool. Automatically seeded in pot one are the hosts USA, Mexico, and Canada. They are joined by world champion Argentina, Brazil, as well as the European powerhouses Spain, France, England, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany.

In the second pot, Austria ranks eleventh according to the "old" procedure, ahead of Australia. Ecuador remained ahead of the Austrians thanks to a 2-0 win in a friendly match against New Zealand. A victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina would have lifted the Rangnick team ahead of the South Americans.

In principle, no two nations from the same continental federation can be in the same group during the draw of the 48 teams. The exception is UEFA, which has the largest contingent of World Cup participants with 16 nations. A maximum of two starters from Europe's field can be drawn into one group.

In Which Pot Will Austria Appear?

Pot allocation according to the previously applied procedure:

Pot one: USA, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Brazil, Belgium, Germany

Pot two: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Senegal, Japan, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia

Pot three: Panama, Norway, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

Pot four: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, four UEFA play-off winners, two intercontinental play-off winners

Pot allocation with rumored FIFA mode change:

Pot one: USA, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Brazil, Belgium, Germany

Pot two: Croatia, Morocco, play-off path winner with Italy, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Senegal, Japan, play-off path winner with Denmark, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador

Pot three: Austria, Australia, play-off path winner with Turkey, play-off path winner with Ukraine, Panama, Norway, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Ivory Coast, Tunisia

Pot four: Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, two intercontinental play-off winners

(APA/Red)

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