Overview
- FIFA will stage the group draw at Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center on December 5 at 18:00 CET, with Mexico to open the tournament in Mexico City on June 11 and host placements fixed in Groups A (Mexico), B (Canada) and D (USA).
- FIFA has published the four pots for the expanded 48‑team field, with Pot 4 still holding placeholders for four European and two intercontinental play-off winners to be decided in March 2026 under confederation draw restrictions.
- Nearly two million tickets have been sold across the first two phases, and fans can register for Phase 3 from December 11 (17:00 CET) to January 13, when the first single-match tickets for group games go on offer after the draw; a FIFA ID is required and household limits apply.
- German viewers can watch the draw live on ZDF, with coverage also on MagentaTV and a FIFA livestream; for the finals, ARD/ZDF hold free-to-air sublicenses while MagentaTV shows all 104 matches.
- Germany’s women began their home handball worlds with a 32:25 win over Iceland and can clinch a main‑round berth against Uruguay tonight, while at the curling Euros the German men finished fifth and the women missed World Championship qualification.