The draw for the 2026 World Cup groups took place in Washington DC at the John F. Kennedy Center. The composition of the 12 groups of four teams was determined. It is the first edition of the World Cup in which 48 teams participate.
The final tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Romania was present at the draw through the prism of participation in the play-off scheduled for March next year. Mircea Lucescu’s students still have a chance to qualify if they prevail against Turkey’s first team, a match that will be played on March 26, 2026.
Then, the tricolors will face the winner of the duel Slovakia vs. Kosovo, on the 31st of the same month.
The draw took place before the list of 48 World Cup participants was complete. At the moment, 42 teams are confirmed, and the final six will be determined in March 2026, after the four European and two intercontinental play-offs. The teams that will play these play-offs have all been included in the fourth urn for the draw that is about to begin.
Romania’s opponents at the 2026 World Cup
Under the eyes of FRF president Răzvan Burleanu, the draw placed Romania in Group D, alongside the USA, Paraguay and Australia, if Mircea Lucescu’s tricolors will make it past the play-off stage.
2026 World Cup groups
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Dam D (Denmark/North Macedonia – Czech Republic/Ireland);
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Dam A (Italy/Northern Ireland – Wales/Bosnia);
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti;
Group D: United States of America, Australia, Paraguay, Dam C (Slovakia/Kosovo -Turkey/Romania);
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao;
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Dam B (Ukraine/Sweden – Poland/Albania);
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand;
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde;
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Intercontinental Dam 2 (Iraq – Bolivia / Suriname);
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan;
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Intercontinental Dam 1 (Congo – Jamaica / New Caledonia);
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana.
