Vbet UPL 2025/26, Round 30: Commentaries on episodes from the UEFA Committee of Arbiters
CS-2026. Ahead of the final tournament draw for the Ukraine national team: squad baskets
The ceremony for the draw of the final tournament of the 2026 World Cup will begin at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington today, December 5, at 19:00 Kyiv time, FIFA reports. Ukraine is among the playoff participants and has been placed in the fourth pot. As a reminder, based on the results of the UEFA playoff draw, Ukrainians will take Path B, where they will face Sweden's team at their home ground on March 26 in the semifinals.
Photo from fifa.com
The draw for the final tournament of the 2026 World Cup will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington today, December 5th, at 19:00 Kyiv time, FIFA reports.Ukraine is among the playoff participants and has been placed in the fourth pot.
As a reminder, according to the results of the UEFA playoff draw, Ukrainians will take Path B, where on their home field on March 26th they will face Sweden. In case of success in this confrontation, the Ukrainian national team will compete for a World Cup spot against Poland vs Albania winners on March 31st.
UEFA 2026 World Cup Playoff
Path A
Semifinals
March 26, 2026
Italy — Northern Ireland
Wales — Bosnia and Herzegovina
Final
March 31, 2026
Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina — Italy/Northern Ireland
Path B
Semifinals
March 26, 2026
Ukraine — Sweden
Poland — Albania
Final
March 31, 2026
Ukraine/Sweden — Poland/Albania
Path C
Semifinals
March 26, 2026
Turkey — Romania
Slovakia — Kosovo
Final
March 31, 2026
Slovakia/Kosovo — Turkey/Romania
Path D
Semifinals
March 26, 2026
Denmark — North Macedonia
Czech Republic — Ireland
Final
March 31, 2026
Czech Republic/Ireland — Denmark/North Macedonia
Photo UEFA
Intercontinental playoff
Semifinals
March 26, 2026
New Caledonia — Jamaica
Bolivia — Suriname
Finals
March 31, 2026
New Caledonia/Jamaica — DR Congo
Bolivia/Suriname — Iraq
2026 World Cup. Final tournament
After the November international window, 42 participants in the World Cup are known.
Hosts: USA, Canada, Mexico.
Europe: England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Scotland.
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia.
Asia: Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia.
Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Senegal, Ivory Coast.
CONCACAF: Panama, Curacao, Haiti.
Oceania: New Zealand.
The last six participants in the World Cup will be determined by the results of matches in March 2026: six national teams in the intercontinental playoff will compete for two spots, another four slots will be contested in the European playoff involving sixteen teams.
Photo FIFA
Pot composition before the draw on December 5th based on the FIFA ranking as of November 19th
Pot 1: USA, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia.
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, winners of the European playoff (1, 2, 3, 4), winners of the intercontinental playoff (1, 2).
The hosts of the 2026 World Cup have been placed in Pot 1.
In each group at the 2026 World Cup there will be no more than one representative from a single confederation (except UEFA, where up to two are allowed). Also, the top-ranked teams (Spain and Argentina) have been placed in different paths so that if they advance past the group stage, they won't meet until the final. The same principle applies to third-ranked teams (France) and fourth-ranked teams (England) in the ranking.
All details of the draw for the final tournament can be found here.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first in history to feature 48 teams in the finals. There will be twelve groups with four teams each. The top two teams from each group and eight of the best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16.
Matches of the 23rd World Cup will take place in sixteen cities. These are: Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey in Mexico, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle in the USA.
The opening match of the World Cup will take place on June 11, 2026 in Mexico City, while the final will be held in New York on July 19.
