"Pots, quadrants, confederation constraints, group position grids... the 2026 World Cup finals draw on Friday is not going to be a straightforward affair. There's a lot to unpack so we're going to explain it as simply as we can. Luckily, Fifa will have a computer to do most of the heavy lifting and make sure everything runs smoothly. Though as Uefa found out in 2021, sometimes technology does go wrong. Let's hope there will be no gremlins in Washington once the draw ceremony kicks off."
"The ceremony gets started at 17:00 GMT (12:00 local time) on 5 December, but there's going to be far more to this glitzy event than simply pulling the countries out of a hat. Supermodel Heidi Klum, comedian Kevin Hart and actor and producer Danny Ramirez will co-host. Before the draw there will be live music performances from Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger, while Fifa president Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump are both expected to make speeches."
The 2026 World Cup finals draw will be complex, involving pots, quadrants and confederation constraints. FIFA will use a computer to allocate teams and enforce constraints, though technology has failed before. The draw ceremony starts at 17:00 GMT on 5 December and will last about 90 minutes with hosts Heidi Klum, Kevin Hart and Danny Ramirez. Performers include Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and the Village People, with expected speeches from Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump. Forty-eight teams are split into four pots of 12 based on FIFA rankings, with three hosts in pot one and play-off qualifiers placed in pot four. Several European play-off teams could create strong groups depending on qualification.
Read at www.bbc.com
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