Since Tuesday, not only have the four pots for the World Cup draw been decided, but also some details for the first days of the tournament. Eleven teams can dream of playing in the opening game—but not Germany.
Mexico has known for a long time. The southernmost of the three host countries will play the World Cup opening match on Thursday, June 11, 2026. FIFA also decided on the historic venue, the famous Aztec Stadium in Mexico City, some time ago. But who will be the opponent?
That will not be decided until December 5, when the twelve groups of the 48-team tournament will be drawn at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, however, FIFA announced a few more details, including a predefined pattern according to which the teams from pots 2, 3, and 4 will be distributed among the positions in the individual groups.
Since then, it has been clear that Mexico will start against a team from the third pot. And because Panama, as a fellow member of the CONCACAF association, cannot end up in the same group as El Tri, there are only eleven opponents left in contention for the opening game: Norway, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
Germany will start on June 13 at the earliest
The USA, head of Group D, also knows for sure that it will start against one of these eleven nations on Friday, June 12, in Los Angeles. Canada, seeded in Group B, will start on the same day against a team from Pot 4, in which six participants will only be determined after the play-offs in March. The remaining six teams are the underdogs Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, and New Zealand.
Because no other matches are scheduled for the second day of the tournament and only Mexico’s opening match and the other match in Group A (in Guadalajara) are scheduled for the first day, Germany will not enter the tournament until June 13 at the earliest. To do so, the DFB team would have to be drawn into Group C. On June 17, the last four of the 48 teams will play their first matches.
After the draw, all teams will know their group opponents (or pot 4 placeholders) and thus also their venues. However, FIFA will not present the exact schedule with all kick-off times until a day later.
