The final draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place on Friday, December 5, 2025, at 5 pm and for the first time ever, the tournament’s top four seeds have been paired to guarantee they cannot meet before the semi-finals.

It is a structural shake-up designed to deliver blockbuster clashes late in the competition, but it also shapes the pathways of lower-seeded nations like Ghana.

Spain (1st), Argentina (2nd), France (3rd) and England (4th) have been strategically separated. Spain and Argentina will be placed in opposite halves of the knockout bracket, with France and England paired in similar fashion.

If each wins their group, England cannot meet Spain or Argentina until the semis, while France can only face them in the final. The idea mirrors seeding systems used in Wimbledon and the new Champions League model.

2026 World Cup: US legend chooses Ghana as one of the dark horses

The 48-team tournament features 12 groups of four teams, drawn from four pots. Co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States automatically occupy positions A1, B1 and D1 to ensure they play all group matches at home.

After that, Pot 1 is drawn, followed by Pots 2, 3 and 4, with FIFA enforcing confederation rules: no group may feature two teams from the same confederation, except Europe, which may have two nations in four different groups because of their higher number of qualifiers.

For Ghana, the picture is clear: the Black Stars are in Pot 4, the unseeded group, meaning they are guaranteed to face one superpower from Pot 1 and two strong sides from Pots 2 and 3.

A potential Ghana group could look as daunting as: France (Pot 1), Japan (Pot 2), Norway (Pot 3) and Ghana (Pot 4). Or it could present an intriguing opportunity: Canada (Pot 1), Australia (Pot 2), Panama (Pot 3) and Ghana (Pot 4).

From Pot 1 alone, Ghana’s possible opponents include Spain, Brazil, France, England, Portugal and Germany, a collection of global heavyweights.

Pot 2 is equally unforgiving, featuring Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal and Croatia. Pot 3 also contains high-level sides such as Norway, Egypt, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Paraguay and Qatar.

The only restriction is that Ghana cannot be drawn with another African team, removing Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa from their potential group.

Another change this year: once all four teams are placed into a group, a pre-set grid determines match order, speeding up the draw.

Fixtures will be known immediately on Friday, though venues and kick-off times will be confirmed a day later.

For Ghana, the task will be difficult, but with young talent emerging and momentum building, the Black Stars will believe they can surprise. The draw will reveal just how steep the path will be.

FKA/EB