On March 3, 2022, the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, occurred in Washington, DC. The groups that each country is in for this tournament are known and will include many Premier League players competing for their respective countries next summer.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest World Cup ever hosted. There will be 48 participating nations divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group moving on to the knockout phase of the tournament, as well as eight of the best-ranked third-place teams from each group.

As of today there have been 42 of the 48 qualification spots confirmed (with four spots remaining in Europe via the UEFA Playoffs plus an additional two via the Inter-Confederation Playoff Tournament), and thus we can see how the 2026 World Cup will take place.

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, European Playoff Winner D

Group A will feature Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, and the winner of the European Playoff D. The tournament kicks off in Mexico City on Saturday, June 11, with Mexico vs. South Africa as the first match, followed by South Korea vs. the winner of the European playoff D.

Premier League players who could be involved in Group A include Fulham’s Mexican striker Raul Jimenez and Burnley’s South African forward Lyle Foster. South Korea’s great Son Heung-min is no longer plying his trade in the English top flight, but international teammate Hwang Hee-chan has 23 Premier League goals to his name for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Group B: Canada, European Playoff Winner A, Qatar, Switzerland

This World Cup will mark Canada’s first time playing in Qatar, which was their host in 2022; they will face a challenge against one of four potential opponents at their next match: Wales, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, or Northern Ireland. Switzerland and Qatar complete Group B.

Daniel Jebbison from AFC Bournemouth has represented Canada at the Premier League level this season, while Granit Xhaka, the captain of Sunderland and the Switzerland national team, is hoping to play for his nation in his fourth FIFA World Cup.

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland

Group C will see Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland competing for supremacy. For the first time since 1998, Scotland will head back to the World Cup, having not played since 1994; they will face one of two former opponents in Brazil or Morocco first, as they will meet Haiti in their opening match.

As always, there are many Brazilian players positioned at Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Chelsea, both of whom have three Brazilian players on their squads. Manchester United’s Casemiro is the captain of Brazil, who has won the World Cup a record five times, and he will face one of his club teammates, Noussair Mazraoui from Morocco. Additionally, many Scottish players compete at the Premier League level, with notable players including captain Andy Robertson (Liverpool) and John McGinn (Aston Villa). Recently, Wolves player Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has accomplished the feat of becoming the first Haitian player to participate in the Premier League competition.

Group: D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, European Playoff Winner C

Germany will commence their World Cup journey versus Paraguay in Los Angeles. This will mark the first World Cup encounter between both sides since 1930 (the tournament’s very first).

Amongst the prominent American players currently playing in the English Premier League are Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) and Tyler Adams (Bournemouth). In comparison, Paraguay has Diego Leon (Man Utd) and Diego Gomez (Brighton & Hove Albion) as their key players.

The four-time World Champion Germany have been paired with the other group members, debutant Curacao, along with the pair, Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

Germany’s Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade from Newcastle United hope to represent their country in their very first World Cup. Florian Wirtz from Liverpool is also hoping to represent Germany in this tournament, as he did not play in 2022 due to injury.

Kai Havertz from Arsenal represented Germany in the previous tournament and has the potential to face club colleague, Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie. Amad from Manchester United is a regular starter for the Ivory Coast, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, or Albania.

The Premier League has its fair share of Dutch players right now, four of whom play for Liverpool: captain Virgil van Dijk, Jeremie Frimpong, Ryan Gravenberch, and Cody Gakpo. They could find themselves on the opposing side to fellow Reds player Wataru Endo, who wears the armband for Japan.