The seeded teams for the World Cup tournament draw on December 5th have been established, following the publication of the new FIFA rankings. Germany, among others, tops the list, while Croatia is not included in this select group.
Hosts United States, Canada, and Mexico will join Spain, Argentina (current champion), France, England, Portugal, Brazil, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the seeded pot.
2026 World Cup Team Rankings: The 64 national teams that could still win next summer.
The best stories and wildest celebrations from an incredible week of World Cup qualifiers.
The resounding victory over Uruguay shows how much the USMNT has advanced in 16 months.
Croatia, semi-finalist in 2022 and runner-up against France in 2018, was relegated to Pot 2 for the draw ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The updated FIFA rankings also determined the seeding for Thursday’s draw of the March play-off brackets, which will decide the final six entries into the expanded 48-nation lineup.The draw on December 5th will determine the groups for the final phase of the tournament.
The 22 play-off teams include 16 in Europe that will play for four places for the World Cup and six from the other regions that will seek two places in the intercontinental playoffs.
Italy tops the European charts, as the four-time world champion seeks to avoid a humiliating third consecutive play-off exit.
The Italians, ranked 12th, were pushed into the play-offs after finishing as runners-up in a qualifying group won by Norway.
Italy will be drawn at home on Thursday against a team from the fourth pot. That could be North Macedonia again, who surprisingly eliminated the Italians in 2022.
The winner on March 26th will advance to a play-off final five days later against the team emerging from the match between the second and third seeds in their elimination bracket. The home advantage in the single-match play-off finals will be decided in the draw on Thursday and not by the FIFA ranking.
It is expected that the teams that ultimately emerge from the four separate European play-off brackets will be low-ranked wildcard teams in Pot 4 of the December 5 draw.
The intercontinental play-offs will see Iraq and Congo, seeded, each await the winner of the play-off semi-finals involving Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.
European Play-offs Ranking
Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine.
Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia.
Pot 3: Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo.
Pot 4: Northern Ireland, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia.
Intercontinental Play-offs
Seeds: Congo, Iraq.
Non-seeds: Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Suriname.
