Over 80 minutes into Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony in Washington, D.C., millions globally finally witnessed what they had been waiting for.

The white plastic balls within bowls appeared!

They were prominently displayed on the Kennedy Center stage. Inside these balls were the names of the 39 non-host nations already qualified for the World Cup, alongside the names of 22 additional countries still competing for the remaining six berths in the 2026 tournament, which will take place across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. (The host nations automatically qualify for the tournament, and their bracket positions were pre-determined.) The sequence in which these balls were drawn from the bowls over the subsequent minutes would establish the World Cup matchups in June, significantly impacting the emotional state of numerous soccer enthusiasts.

Up to that moment, viewers, as well as all coaches, officials, and media present at the Kennedy Center, endured a lengthy ceremony filled with pomp and circumstance. While occasionally inspiring, it mostly progressed slowly: musical acts by Andrea Bocelli and the duo of Robbie Williams and , uneventful exchanges between hosts Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino presenting Donald Trump with an inaugural that seemed entirely out of place, though consistent with Infantino’s past efforts to ingratiate himself with the U.S. President. Trump, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney participated on stage to draw their countries, but this was merely symbolic.

Infantino had previously declared this upcoming World Cup to be “the greatest event that mankind had ever seen.”

So, could the actual draw finally commence?

It did. , Shaquille O’Neal, , and Wayne Gretzky—prominent figures from North America’s “Big 4” sports—fulfilled their roles in revealing country names, and thus, a World Cup structure was formed. “Now,” remarked U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino afterward, “we start to live the World Cup.”

Indeed. Here are three preliminary observations.

1. American Opponents

Pochettino has elevated expectations for one of the host nations. Despite the U.S. not reaching a World Cup quarterfinal since 2002—and failing to qualify for the tournament eight years ago in Russia—he harbors ambitious goals. “For me, it’s about winning. I think if you don’t win, what does it matter? If you are second, nobody ever remembers,” Pochettino stated in an interview with acclaimed soccer broadcaster Andrés Cantor published in November. “And I believe we should aspire to win it. Then you tell me you ‘reach a semifinal, you reach the quarterfinals, you have a great tournament, and due to different factors, well, you can’t win.’”

On paper, the United States appears to have received a favorable draw. On June 12, at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, the United States will face Paraguay in its World Cup opener. The U.S. recently defeated Paraguay 2-1 in a November friendly that concluded with a heated altercation between the two squads. “We know them,” Pochettino noted. “But they know us.”

As a host nation, the U.S. was automatically placed with top-ranked teams such as Spain and Brazil in “Pot 1,” thereby avoiding these strong contenders in the group-stage draw. When Shaq selected Australia, the lowest-ranked team in “Pot 2”—the second tier of World Cup teams according to FIFA rankings—from the bowl, it seemed to benefit the Americans. The U.S. will play Australia on June 19 in Seattle, which shortens travel time for Socceroo supporters potentially making the trip to the U.S.

The U.S. also secured a 2-1 victory against Australia in a recent friendly on October 14, outside Denver. Australia coach informed reporters at the Kennedy Center that he has “a lot of young, good players coming through, players that I think will have big careers in years to come, and this is a chance for them to be on the world stage.” Americans, Popovic stated, should anticipate seeing “an exciting group, a confident group, and one that will give our all for our country … we’ve always punched well above our weight.”

Team USA’s final group-stage match is scheduled for June 25, returning to Southern California. The Americans will learn their opponent in March, as Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo compete for the last slot in a playoff.

2. French Connection

Group I offers significant intrigue. France and Senegal, slated to play on June 16, share a complex and intertwined history. France colonized the African nation, which gained independence in 1960; French remains Senegal’s official language. Concurrently, a substantial Senegalese diaspora has established itself in France. This past summer, France formally ended its military presence in Senegal, and in August, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye visited French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to reaffirm a commitment to strengthening bilateral ties. However, little diplomacy is expected on the field.

And what about France versus Norway? The Norwegians, spearheaded by Manchester City’s prolific goal-scorer , dominated their qualifying group to secure their first World Cup appearance since 1998. Haaland and French superstar , who plays for Real Madrid, are widely considered the successors to and Cristiano Ronaldo as the sport’s global icons. They will confront each other on June 26.

3. England’s Unfavorable Draw

In my notes, beside the teams comprising Group L—England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama—I simply wrote “Brutal.”

It is already challenging enough that England, home to the world’s most prestigious and valuable professional league, has not won a World Cup since 1966. Today, they discovered they will face the top-ranked team in Pot 2—Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runner-up and third-place finisher in 2022; the second-ranked team in Pot 3, Panama; and the third-ranked team in Pot 4, Ghana, a World Cup quarterfinalist in 2010 and a team boasting young talent like Antoine Semenyo, who plays for Bournemouth in the Premier League and has reportedly attracted interest from clubs such as Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur.

A positive aspect for teams like England: with the expanded 48-team, 12-group World Cup format, not only do the top two teams from each group advance to the inaugural round-of-32 knockout stage, but also the top 8 third-place teams. This provides more leeway for error next summer.

With over six months remaining until kickoff, analyses are just beginning. And now that the draw is—thankfully—complete, opening day, featuring Mexico and South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City, cannot arrive soon enough.