⚽ The Saturday Kick-Off #21 - Scotland's Potential World Cup Opponents

Can't stop thinking about the World Cup Draw on Friday? Get a rundown on the teams Scotland could face and our records against them.

Nov 29, 2025

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Safe travels to everyone heading to a game this weekend.

The World Cup Draw Details

What we know:

The draw will take place on Friday at 5pm (12 noon US time) and will be broadcast live from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on BBC Two.

A total of 42 countries are already confirmed for next summer’s tournament in North America, with another 16 teams still in contention through the March play-offs.

All participating nations have been allocated into four pots of 12, based on their FIFA rankings.

All Pots for the 2026 World Cup Draw Confirmed: FIFA Officially Announces the Complete Line-Up

Teams will be drawn starting with Pot One. Mexico are already confirmed to play in the opening match against a Pot Three side. Scotland have a one-in-11 chance of featuring in that fixture, as Mexico cannot be paired with Panama due to both being from Concacaf.

Teams from the same non-European confederation cannot be grouped together. For UEFA nations, a maximum of two can be placed in any one group.

Fixtures:
FIFA will announce the full match schedule the following day. At that stage, we’ll know which two stadiums Scotland could play in and who the opposition will be for each matchday, but the exact venue and match date won’t be confirmed until the fixtures are released.

Additional details on the draw can be found in this BBC article, and FIFA have also published a graphic explaining how each team’s group position will be determined.