Will Qatar host the opening match of the 2026 World Cup?

The Qatari national football team could be participating in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the second consecutive time if they are drawn into Group A, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The draw for the 2026 World Cup is scheduled to take place on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where the 48 participating teams will be divided into 12 groups of four. Prior to the draw, FIFA divided the teams into four pots based on the FIFA World Ranking released on November 19, with each pot containing 12 teams. The host nations, Canada, Mexico, and the United States, were placed in Pot 1 regardless of their ranking, while the remaining teams were distributed into the other pots. Mexico was placed at the top of Group A, Canada at the top of Group B, and the United States at the top of Group D. With Mexico heading Group A, they will play the opening match against a team from Pot 3. Qatar is in Pot 3, along with Norway, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Algeria. Qatar previously participated in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar, when they faced Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium. The opening match of the 2026 World Cup will be held at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, making it the first stadium to host the World Cup opening match three times, having previously hosted the opening matches in 1970 and 1986. Besides Qatar, four other Arab teams are in Pot 3: Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. This means that five out of seven Arab teams could potentially feature in the opening match, with the exception of Morocco (Pot 2) and Jordan (Pot 4). According to the seeding system, the other pots include prominent teams in Pot 1 such as Brazil, Germany, and France; Pot 2 includes Morocco and Croatia; and Pot 4 features teams like Jordan and Ghana. The draw ceremony will begin from level one up to level four, and the International Federation will announce the tournament schedule in detail the day after the draw, to ensure an organization that suits the different time zones of fans around the world.