Who the All Whites could face at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after draw procedure confirmed

Wednesday, 26 November 2025

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley reflects on the eight tough matches they've had to finish 2025.

With the final international window of the year now finished, 42 of the 48 teams for next year’s FIFA World Cup in North America have been found.

The final six will be decided in European and intercontinental playoffs next March, so we know almost everything we need to know about who the All Whites can be grouped with at next month’s draw in Washington, DC.

FIFA has now confirmed how teams will be seeded ahead of the draw, opting to stick with the established procedure, which is great news for the All Whites.

Under a potential new draw procedure that was mooted, but ultimately not used, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa would have shifted from pot three to pot four, taking the four weakest potential opponents for the All Whites off the board.

But in sticking with the old procedure, it means the six places reserved for playoff winners will all be placed in pot four, bumping those four teams above that would have been in that pot, based on their ranking, up to pot three.

December 6 (NZ time) is when the All Whites will learn their fate.

Pot one

Mexico (ranked 15th in the world), Canada (27), United States (14), Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9)

This pot features the three host nations and the nine highest-ranked teams in the world.

The All Whites (and the 35 other teams in pots two, three and four) will want to draw Canada, who are clearly a step below everyone else and would be in pot three if they weren’t co-hosts.

The United States, who would be in pot two, have been inconsistent enough of late to be the next most appealing option.

The All Whites drew 1-1 with the US in Cincinnati last September, but haven’t played Canada since March 2018, when they lost a match in Spain 1-0.

Even though they would be in pot two otherwise, drawing the other host nation, Mexico, would be cruel, because the All Whites have played them relatively often over the years – and the results haven’t been pretty.

The All Whites qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a win over New Caledonia in March.

In seven head-to-head meetings since 2010, Mexico have scored 21 goals and conceded just five while racking up seven wins, most recently winning 3-0 in Los Angeles last September.

If the All Whites ended up drawing one of the European or South American heavyweights, it would be a rare glamour match-up.

Their last match against any of those teams was when they played Portugal at the 2017 Confederations Cup, losing 4-0.

This century they have also faced Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, losing 5-0; Brazil in 2006 on the eve of that year’s World Cup, losing 4-0; and France at the 2003 Confederations Cup, losing 5-0.

Drawing Brazil would set up a rematch from the 1982 World Cup, where the South American giants won 4-0.

Pot two

Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26)

This pot is strong from top to bottom, with no team really standing out as one the All Whites would prefer to be drawn with.

It features the two South American teams they lost to this month, Colombia and Ecuador, who they will therefore be hoping to avoid next June.

Scott McTominay scored Scotland’s first goal as they beat Denmark this week to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.

General historical results suggest they would be best off drawing an Asian team, with arch rivals Australia the preferred option for a mouth-watering trans-Tasman group clash.

Pot three

**Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), Scotland (36), Paraguay (39), *Tunisia (40),* Ivory Coast (42), **Uzbekistan (50), *Qatar (51),* Saudi Arabia (60), South Africa (61).****

With the exception of Norway – with star striker Erling Haaland in their lineup, which he wasn’t when the two teams met last month – none of these teams would strike fear into the All Whites.

If the All Whites were to land ideal opponents from pot one or two, their pot three team might need to be European, as each group must contain one team from that continent.

The best scenario might be for them to draw a European team from pot two, so they can land a non-European team from pot three.

Curaçao's Roshon Van Eijma, in the air, fights for the ball with Jamaica's Gregory Leigh in a match they drew to become the smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup.

Drawing Scotland would set up a rematch from the 1982 World Cup. On that occasion – New Zealand's first World Cup match – Scotland won 5-2, with Steve Sumner and Steve Wooddin scoring the All Whites’ first World Cup goals.

Drawing Paraguay would set up a rematch from the 2010 World Cup, where the two teams drew 0-0, a result that meant the All Whites bowed out with three draws to their name when a win would have put them through to the round of 16.

Pot four

Jordan (66), Cabo Verde (68), Ghana (72), Curaçao (82), Haiti (84), New Zealand (86), European playoff A, B, C and D, FIFA playoff ournament 1 and 2.

The least interesting pot for All Whites fans, as it contains teams New Zealand won’t be able to face until the knockout stage, if any of them even make it that far.

All you need to know about the draw

The draw will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on the evening of Friday, December 5 (6am Saturday, December 6, NZ time).

Pot one will be drawn first, followed by pots two, three and four.

That means 12 three-team groups will be known when the time comes for the All Whites’ turn.

While the final will determine which teams play each other in the group stage, the updated match schedule, including the stadium assigned to each match and the respective kickoff time, will be confirmed within 24 hours.

The World Cup is set to begin on June 12 next year and end with the final on July 20.