Mexico are preparing to be one of the three host nations—alongside the United States and Canada—for the FIFA World Cup 2026, marking the third time in their history they have hosted the world’s most important soccer event. Here is a breakdown of the possible teams they could face in the group stage.
Unlike previous World Cups, this historic edition will be the first to feature 48 nations instead of the traditional 32. To structure the groups under this new format, all qualified nations will be divided into four pots based on their FIFA World Ranking classification.
As a host nation, Mexico will be placed in Pot 1 and will be seeded in their group. This means Javier Aguirre’s team will not be grouped with any of the other host nations, nor with Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, or the Netherlands, as all of these teams are also top seeds.
To determine how Mexico’s group will be formed, it is essential to know that FIFA does not allow two countries from the same confederation to be part of the same group, meaning Mexico will not be able to face any Concacaf team in the first phase.
Raul Jimenez celebrates a goal with his teammates. (Getty Images)
The only exception to this rule is the UEFA confederation. Since there will be 16 qualified European teams filling 12 groups, four groups will necessarily include two teams from that same confederation.
Potential group rivals for Mexico
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The groups for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be composed of one team from each pot, while adhering to the rules that prohibit nations from the same confederation from sharing a group, with the exception of UEFA.
In this way, Mexico’s group will not include: Panama (Pot 3), Haiti and Curaçao (Pot 4), or Suriname and Jamaica, should those two nations qualify through the Intercontinental Playoffs.
These are the potential rivals Mexico could have in their group, divided into their respective pots:
Pot 2
- Croatia
- Morocco
- Colombia
- Uruguay
- Switzerland
- Japan
- Senegal
- Iran
- South Korea
- Ecuador
- Austria
- Australia
Pot 3
- Norway
- Egypt
- Algeria
- Scotland
- Paraguay
- Tunisia
- Ivory Coast
- Uzbekistan
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
Pot 4
- Jordan
- Cape Verde
- Ghana
- New Zealand
- European Playoff 1
- European Playoff 2
- European Playoff 3
- European Playoff 4
- Intercontinental Playoff 1
- Intercontinental Playoff 2
