Spain cannot face Argentina, and France will not meet England before the World Cup final—assuming they win their groups—after FIFA announced the 2026 tournament draw procedure on Tuesday.

The rule is designed to maintain competitive balance in the expanded 48-team format. It ensures that the top-ranked team, Spain, and the world champions, Argentina, are placed in opposite halves of the bracket, with the same arrangement for third-ranked France and fourth-ranked England.

Even if these teams do not top their groups, the top four seeds will still be prevented from meeting until the semi-finals.

The 2026 World Cup draw is scheduled for December 5 in Washington, with the full match schedule—including stadiums and kick-off times—set to be released on December 6.

Draw Pots:

Pot 1: Hosts Canada, Mexico, and the US, alongside Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, and Australia.

Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, the winners of European play-offs A–D, and the two FIFA play-off tournament winners.

Confederation rules will apply, meaning no group can feature more than one team from the same region, except UEFA, which can have up to two teams per group due to its 16 representatives.

The tournament, hosted across the US, Mexico, and Canada, kicks off on June 11, 2026, with the final set for July 19 in New Jersey.