With less than 200 days to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will not face each other in the group stage, FIFA confirmed.

The news comes as the procedures for the Final Draw were released, outlining how the 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four. Fans around the world are now looking ahead to the draw on December 5 in Washington, D.C., where each team will learn its group stage path.

The draw will place the hosts—Canada, Mexico, and the USA—in Pot 1, along with the top nine ranked teams, including Argentina and Portugal. The remaining 39 teams are split into Pots 2, 3, and 4 based on the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, with play-off winners added to Pot 4. To keep the tournament balanced, the highest-ranked teams are placed on

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