"On Friday, FIFA will conduct the draw for the top men's soccer tournament, taking place across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. will determine which opponents all 48 teams participating in the World Cup will eventually face in the initial group stage. The draw will be attended by the three leaders of the countries hosting the event, including President Trump, in an event that has become quite the spectacle."
"Ahead of the draw, all teams have been placed in four pots, primarily based on their most recent FIFA rankings. Pot 1 will include top-ranked teams such as Spain and Brazil, along with the three hosts. Pot 4 will include the lowest-ranked teams, including World Cup debutants Cape Verde, Curacao and Jordan, as well as placeholders for the six teams that have yet to qualify."
The FIFA draw will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and will determine initial group-stage opponents for 48 teams competing across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The tournament will feature 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group and the eight best third-place teams advancing to the knockout rounds. Forty-two teams have qualified so far, with six remaining spots to be decided by playoffs next March. Teams are allocated into four pots by recent FIFA rankings. The draw enforces confederation restrictions: at most two European teams per group and only one team per group from each other continental confederation.
Read at www.npr.org
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