President Trump, Tom Brady and other sports legends reveal 2026 FIFA World Cup groupings

US Sports Icons Help Unveil 2026 World Cup Groupings in Whimsical Draw Event

In a surprise twist, the United States Soccer Federation joined forces with the world of sports to randomly select teams for the upcoming FIFA Men's World Cup. The unusual collaboration was held at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, where American football legend Tom Brady, basketball icon Shaquille O'Neal, NHL great Wayne Gretzky, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge, and even former President Donald Trump participated in a lighthearted drawing ceremony.

President Trump kicked off the proceedings by randomly selecting his own country's name as part of the group draw. This quirky start set the tone for an entertaining event that saw Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, NFL legend Tom Brady, NBA great Shaquille O’Neal, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and NHL’s greatest player Wayne Gretzky all pick their country's names to initiate the process.

With balls containing the countries' names in tow, Brady was tasked with selecting the teams for Pot 1. The former football quarterback proved his sports prowess once again by choosing the top-seeded teams in each group. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal picked the teams for Pot 2 and Aaron Judge, and Wayne Gretzky had Pots 3 and 4 to sort through.

The six countries competing in the UEFA playoffs were drawn from a separate pot, with four of them set to be revealed on March 2026. The remaining two spots will be decided at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament, which features teams from Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.

The final groupings for the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup are as follows:

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic, Winner UEFA Playoff D
Group B: Canada, Winner UEFA Playoff A, Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Winner UEFA Playoff C
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Winner UEFA Playoff B, Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, IR Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, Winner FIFA Playoff 2, Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan

The event marked a fun and unexpected collaboration between the world of sports and international politics.

idk, i think it's kinda cool that us sports icons got to help with the drawing ceremony but at the same time, isn't it weird that donald trump was part of it? like, shouldn't he be, like, on vacation or something? anyway, i guess it's a fun twist on how teams are chosen for the world cup... but isn't it gonna be kinda frustrating when the matchups come out and you're all "man, why did they put my team in that group with all those other countries?"

I'm not sure about all these groups being randomly picked by sports icons... seems like it's gonna be quite a competition! I mean, don't get me wrong, it's awesome that US Sports Icons got together to help with the draw. Tom Brady looked pretty chill doing his job as Pot 1 selector . But still, gotta wonder if we're getting the fairest groups possible here... some teams might get a tougher break than others . And what about the other FIFA playoffs? Should be interesting to see how that all shakes out

OMG, what's up with all these celebs gettin' involved in the World Cup draw ? I mean, Tom Brady's skills are one thing, but Shaq just pickin' teams like it's no big deal . And don't even get me started on POTUS Trump thinkin' he can just casually drop into a FIFA event and start influencin' the game .

But for real though, it was kinda cool seein' all these sports legends comin' together to make some fun memories. The Kennedy Center looked like an epic venue too!

Still, gotta wonder what's up with this whole 'random draw' thing? Can't we just stick to the traditional methods? Like, I know they're tryin' to shake things up and all, but do we really need celebrity cameos ?

The groupings look decent, I guess. Group A looks pretty stacked with some tough opponents for Mexico . And hey, it's always good to see some new teams gettin' a chance to shine in the World Cup .

Anyway, can't wait to see how this whole tournament plays out! Will we see any major upsets or surprises? Only time will tell

This whole thing is kinda like democracy in action – you gotta have some chaos to create order . I mean, who wouldn't want Tom Brady and Shaq getting involved? It's like the world of sports and geopolitics are one big messy team effort .

And let's be real, having former President Trump kick off the event was a bit of a surprise – kind of like how some politicians show up to events uninvited . But hey, it added some entertainment value to an already wild draw.

Now that we've got our groups, it's time to see which teams are really in it to win it. Just like how some nations have different interests and priorities when it comes to international cooperation – is this whole thing just a big PR stunt or do we actually care about the teams making it to the playoffs?

this is so cool , i love that they made it super fun and relaxed for all these big sports figures to be involved - like who wouldn't want to hang out with tom brady and shaq ? but seriously, it's awesome that america joined forces with the rest of the world to pick teams for the world cup, and the way they did it was so unique and entertaining ! i'm excited to see how all these groups turn out - who do you think is gonna win ?

omg what a wild draw event i'm still hyped about it lol i feel bad for mexico tho getting put in group A with south africa and korea republic seems like a tough start anyway i'm loving how diverse the groups are this time around can't wait to see who makes it out of the playoffs

omg i cant even believe what just happened!!! so like tom brady and shaq and wayne gretzky all showed up to draw the teams for the 2026 fifa world cup lol it was so random but also kinda cool? i love how president trump literally got his own country picked first btw what a man anyway idk who else is hyped but me!

I'm loving this whole thing! The idea of US sports legends teaming up with world leaders to randomly select teams for the World Cup is just pure chaos . I mean, who would've thought that Shaq and Tom Brady would be picking team spots alongside Claudia Sheinbaum? It's like they're all part of a big ol' game of soccer-themed Rock-Paper-Scissors ‍.

And can we talk about the fact that Donald Trump got to kick off the whole thing by selecting his own country's name? That's some good old-fashioned American swagger . But, in all seriousness, it's awesome to see the world of sports and politics coming together like this. It's a great reminder that even in the most unexpected places, people can come together and have fun .

I'm curious to know how they'll manage the UEFA playoffs now that these teams are already assigned. Will they just have to adjust on the fly or was there some planning behind the scenes? Either way, it's gonna be an interesting tournament to watch

So like, what's up with this random drawing thingy? It seems kinda weird that all these famous people were involved in picking teams for the World Cup . I mean, I guess it was cool to see Tom Brady and Shaq get together, but come on, former Prez Trump is now part of the draw crew? Anyway, I'm glad we got the groupings out of the way, but can we please just have a normal World Cup without all the extra drama . Also, what's up with Pot 1 and 2 being assigned to specific people? Shouldn't it just be a random draw for everything?

this was so cool they used sports stars to draw groups for the world cup lol what a fun way to announce it and i love that america got to be in group d with paraguay and australia these groups look kinda random might be hard for some teams to make it through but overall its gonna be an epic tournament

omg did u catch this?? so theres this random collab between us soccer federation & sports icons like tom brady & shaq nwaye lol! they had this drawing ceremony at kennedy center & even trump was there to kick it off, who knew?! anywayz its all good, the teams r in tho groupings came out & all that jazz cant wait 2 c how its gonna play out

OMG this is so cool ! Can u believe Tom Brady was involved in drawing the teams ?! I mean, he's not just a football legend, but also super organized . And Shaq being there too is just priceless ! The whole event sounds like a blast , especially with Trump showing up and picking his own country's name first lol . But seriously, can't wait to see the groups for the World Cup . Who do u think is gonna win?

the idea of using sports icons to decide who gets into which group is kinda weird but also kinda funny lol i mean tom brady as a football quarterback can pick teams for pot 1? that's like me showing up to my job as a janitor and being all like 'alright guys, let's get this sweep party started' meanwhile shaq picking the teams for pot 2 is just too cool and wayne gretzky has pots 3 and 4 sorted out? dude must've had some sweet hockey skills to be able to do that ️