FOXBORO, Mass. — People around the world have been waiting quite a while for this: It’s World Cup 2026 draw day.
[ The World Cup draw is usually a spectacle. This time, FIFA hopes bigger is better ]
Boston 25 News will carry the drawings live on Friday afternoon. Celebrities participating in the event include former New England Patriots star Tom Brady.
A lot of people are curious to see the matchups for the opening round of next summer’s tournament.
The New England Revolution are hosting guests is Foxboro for a draw day watch party as FIFA announces which teams will be grouped together and will face each other in the first round of the World Cup.
Here are some things to know:
The World Cup 2026 is the biggest tournament FIFA has hosted. It will feature 48 teams—that’s up from 32 in 2022.
The top-ranked teams in the world, along with the host countries, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, won’t have to play each other in the group stage.
There are 42 teams being placed today; six more teams still have to qualify. The draw will separate the teams into 12 groups of four teams each.
Gillette Stadium will host 7 games total: 5 in the group stage, 1 in the round of 32, and 1 quarterfinal game.
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Boston 25 News talked with our soccer expert, Julian Cardillo, who says there are no bad games in the World Cup, and the Boston area has a wide variety of fan bases that would be excited to see some of the major teams come through Gillette.
“With the way the groups are situated, there’s also the opportunity to have some big powerhouse countries come to Gillette Stadium,” Cardillo said. “So, Argentina, with Lionel Messi, the defending World Cup champions, they have a chance to come. There’s a large contingent of Liverpool fans and English Premier League fans in the Boston area. I’m sure they would love to see England as well, Spain, always an exciting team. They came to Gillette back in 2011 and drew a crowd of almost 65,000.”
Cardillo added that there is a dark horse the US should not want to get placed with.
“I would want to avoid Norway, but as I said at the outset, there are no easy games, and I think for the US, in addition to putting on a good show and playing well and giving their fans something to cheer about, I think they’re going to want a group where they can maneuver and be somewhat of a favorite.”
It’s been more than 30 years since the US hosted a draw.
The groupings will be announced today, but fans will have to wait until Saturday to find out which teams will be playing at Gillette.
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