Friday afternoon was the first step in finding out which teams Philadelphia will host in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as the initial draw to fill out the 12 competitive groups was held — with a lot of glitz and star power — in Washington, D.C.
We won’t have the full picture till tomorrow afternoon, but we have a shortlist of 18 teams that could play at Lincoln Financial Field, as well as how steep the U.S. national team’s path through the tournament will be.
The event, at D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, included Heidi Klum and Philly’s own Kevin Hart as MCs, and sporting greats Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky and Aaron Judge as window dressing. Music was provided by Andrea Bocelli, Lauryn Hill and The Village People. U.S. President Donald Trump was presented with a newly created FIFA Peace Prize.
Back in Philly, a vocal contingent of local soccer fans gathered for a watch party at Stateside Live!, just steps away from the Linc, where six tournament games will be played next summer. They were joined by Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro and the city’s host committee co-chair, Dan Hilferty.
“I think you’re going to see soccer just take over the culture of this city this summer,” Shapiro told event host Anthony Gargano during the event.
Attendees wore jerseys and gear from many of the teams that will be playing next summer. What they couldn’t know yet was which teams will actually play in Philly, which will host five games pitting teams in group play, plus a round-of-16 knockout match on July 4.
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(From left) Phil Innamorato , Gerry Grace and Ben Scott showed up Philly’s Stateside Live! watch party for the FIFA World Cup draw with their national team jerseys.(Nick Kariuki/Billy Penn) -
Soccer fans sport national team jerseys of Ghana, Poland, Ireland, Jordan and others at Philly’s Stateside Live! watch party for the FIFA World Cup draw. (Nick Kariuki/Billy Penn)
The draw played out like this, with the groups that will have a game in Philly identified. Some of them include a placeholder spot, as 22 teams are still vying for six remaining spots that will be decided by two sets of playoff series in March.
Group A
- Mexico
- South Africa
- Korea Republic
- Winner UEFA Playoff D (between the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland and North Macedonia)
Group B
Canada
- Winner UEFA Playoff A (between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland and Wales)
- Qatar
- Switzerland
Group C (Games in Philly)
- Brazil
- Morocco
- Haiti
- Scotland
Group D
- USA
- Paraguay
- Australia
- Winner UEFA Playoff C (between Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey)
Group E (Games in Philly)
- Germany
- Curaçao
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Ecuador
Group F
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Winner UEFA Playoff B (Albania, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine)
- Tunisia
Group G
- Belgium
- Egypt
- IR Iran
- New Zealand
Group H
- Spain
- Cape Verde
- Saudi Arabia
- Uruguay
Group I (Games in Philly)
- France
- Senegal
- Winner FIFA Playoff 2 (between Bolivia, Iraq and Suriname)
- Norway
Group J
- Argentina
- Algeria
- Austria
- Jordan
Group K
- Portugal
- Winner FIFA Playoff 1 (between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica and New Caledonia)
- Uzbekistan
- Colombia
Group L (Games in Philly)
- England
- Croatia
- Ghana
- Panama
With the draw complete, FIFA will work overnight to complete scheduling for the 104 games of the tournament — the most in its history — and announce it at noon tomorrow.
As seen above, teams from groups C, E, I and L could conceivably play here. That includes Brazil, 1966 World Cup winners England and Morocco, all of whom were in town last summer — with their passionate fan bases — for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Other possibilities: four-time World Cup champion Germany and two-time winner France, along with perennial challengers like Senegal, Croatia and Ghana, and a Norway side that features one of the world’s most prolific goalscorers, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Or there could be an underdog surprise from Panama, Haiti, Scotland, Ecuador, first-timers Curacao and the eventual playoff winner. Certainly, that was the hope of some at the Stateside event.
‘Everyone’s got a stake’
Mount Airy resident Steve Jules was born in Haiti, which has qualified for the World Cup just once before, in 1974. Jules said catching a World Cup game would fulfill a lifelong dream — especially if it’s in Philly.
“It’s good to see soccer in Philadelphia, and to see we have such a ravenous, hungry scene willing to support and show the love of soccer,” he said.
It’s worth noting that Haiti, and Iran, are both currently under a full travel ban by the Trump administration. How that will line up with FIFA and the administration’s initiative to prioritize U.S. visa appointments for World Cup ticket holders is unknown.
The Club World Cup games showed that the most passionate fan bases didn’t necessarily come from the most-recognizable teams with the biggest soccer stars — though the names you’re more likely to see on billboards and in video games did help fill the Linc’s seats on gamedays.
“Everyone’s got a stake in humanity,” said Michael Newmuis, the city’s 2026 director. “Every major event is so much more than just the big scores, but [about] bringing people together. It’s about having that shared experience, and no matter where you’re from, whatever country you are, whatever language you speak, we all share that in common. And that’s exactly what this opportunity is.”
The U.S. national team can’t have too many complaints about how Group D turned out, which can be modestly described as familiar and arrogantly dismissed as relatively easy.
“I don’t think we could have really asked for a better draw,” said Nick Custodio, vice president of the Philly chapter of the U.S. supporters’ group, the American Outlaws. “We avoided some of the trap games in there, like Norway or Italy. So I think we’re very solid.”
The U.S. team will first face Paraguay, a team they beat, 2-1, in a “friendly” at Chester’s Subaru Park last month, on Friday, June 12, in Los Angeles. They also face Australia, who they defeated in October. Lastly, it’s the winner of UEFA Playoff C — either Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Turkey. Turkey is the highest ranked of all potential opponents and beat the U.S. in June.
USMNT and Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams said he’s taking no opponent for granted, though.
“There’s no easy game in the World Cup. In fact, I think some of the hardest games in the last World Cup were against lesser opponents.” he said. “For us, moving forward, we need to prepare in the right way. But it’s fun knowing that we’ve played some of these opponents before.”
Without having to play qualifiers for the tournament, because they are co-hosting it, coach Mauricio Pochettino and his team have had to instill a sense of competition and edginess to keep them from getting complacent playing exhibition games. Part of that has come from playing teams like Paraguay, Turkey and Uruguay, who never really play with an exhibition mindset.
“They were friendlies, while also they weren’t very friendly,” said Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream, one of the national team’s veteran players. “And now you add in the heightened aggression and experience of a World Cup, and they’re all finals, they all mean something now. Everything is going to be ramped up exponentially”
The USMNT have to finish in the top three of their group to advance from the group stages. First or second in their group would preclude them playing in Philly on the Fourth of July. Two of the three third-place finishing scenarios, the ones that send them to New York or Boston rather than Kansas City for the round of 36, could follow with a game in Philly on the nation’s 250th birthday.