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Korea expected to make Pot 2 for World Cup draw after holding on to FIFA ranking

Published: 20 Nov. 2025, 13:28 Updated: 20 Nov. 2025, 18:41

The World Cup trophy is lifted up during the closing ceremony before the match between Argentina and France on Dec. 18, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korea retained its position at No. 22 in the FIFA world rankings announced Thursday, effectively securing a spot in Pot 2 for the 2026 World Cup group draw — a first for the country.

The group stage draw for the tournament, which will feature 48 teams divided into 12 groups, will be held on Dec. 6 at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Korea maintained their rank with back-to-back clean sheet wins in friendlies — a 2-0 victory over Bolivia on Nov. 14 and a 1-0 win against Ghana on Tuesday.

FIFA has not officially announced the regulations governing pot allocations for the group draw.

“The latest ranking will help determine the draws for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament and the European Play-Off, which will be held at the home of FIFA in Zurich on Thursday,” the organization said.

No further changes will be made to the rankings before the group draw, meaning this list will serve as the basis for seeding.

Pot 1 is expected to include the three host nations — the United States, Canada and Mexico — as well as the top nine teams in the rankings: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Brazil's Richarlison scores a goal past Serbia's Vanja Milinkovi during the match between Brazil and Serbia at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on Nov. 24. 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Pot 2 will likely consist of Croatia, ranked 10th, along with Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, Korea, Ecuador, Austria and 26th-ranked Australia.

Pot 3 is expected to include Norway, ranked 29th, followed by Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, the Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, who sit 61st place.

Pot 4 will include 66th-ranked Jordan and Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti and 86th-ranked New Zealand.

Six additional teams are expected to join Pot 4: four from the European playoffs in March and two from the intercontinental playoffs.

A sign promoting the 2026 World Cup is shown at a newly opened metro station at Los Angeles International Airport on Aug. 22. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

In this expanded World Cup format, each of the 12 groups will consist of one team from each of the four pots. The rule preventing teams from the same confederation from being placed in the same group — a standard in past World Cups — is expected to remain in effect.

As a result, Korea will be grouped with teams from Pots 1, 3 and 4 but cannot be grouped with another team from the Asian Football Confederation.

Among Pot 1 teams, the three host nations — the United States, Canada and Mexico — are considered the weakest in terms of objective strength. In Pot 3, Norway, led by Erling Haaland, is a team to avoid. Norway went undefeated in the European qualifiers, defeating Italy twice in their eight-match winning streak.

Although Pot 4 features several lower-ranked teams such as Cape Verde, Curaçao and Haiti, strong European sides like Italy, currently ranked 12th, as well as Denmark and Turkey, both in the 20s, could still qualify through the playoffs.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]