Atlanta hosts watch party for 2026 World Cup draw

FIFA’s Atlanta Host Committee and Atlanta United held an official watch party for the 2026 World Cup’s final draw at Buckhead Village on Friday, Dec. 5.

The U.S. National Men’s Team (USMNT) was placed into Group D with opening opponent Paraguay and Australia. The group’s fourth and final team won’t be determined until a playoff between Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in March.

Starting around 12:30 p.m., a large screen on Buckhead Avenue streamed Fox Sports’ coverage of the Final Draw event in Washington, D.C.

The event included a covered area lined with booths from organizations such as Atlanta United, Explore Georgia, and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Many of the booths offered games and chances to win free items, such as baseball caps, koozies, and stickers. DJ EU manned the stage before the announcements, further amping up the crowd.

Sports commentator Mike Conti emceed, while Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan helped host the event, and fans were given an opportunity to meet U.S. player Walker Zimmerman.

The watch party concluded with a drawing for two tickets to an official 2026 World Cup match in Atlanta.

As one of 16 host cities across North America, Atlanta will host eight matches, including a semifinal, next summer. The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams, a first for the event.

The world’s teams were split into confederations based on their continent of origin. Not all contenders have been determined, as qualifiers are still ongoing. No two teams from the same confederation can land in the same group — that is, unless they encounter each other in the finals.

According to FIFA’s match schedule, Atlanta will host five group-stage games in total: one game from groups A, C, and K, and two games from group H.

The amount of teams playing or split among host countries wasn’t FIFA’s only differentiation this year. During the ceremony, FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented U.S. President Donald Trump with the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize. Trump’s appearance drew mixed reactions from the crowd.

Fabiola Flores, a Mexico fan, said she’s very excited to watch her team play next year. As a member of Group A, Mexico has a slight chance of playing in Atlanta’s corresponding match.

“I have been watching the World Cup since I was little,” she said. “I’m super excited to see all the diversity flying in from all sorts of different countries.”

Jason Wells, a longtime USMNT fan, enjoyed watching the draw with other local soccer fans.

“The event was good. It was fun. The actual draw itself was really favorable for the U.S. as far as our opponents,” he said. “I think for the games, for the four groups that are going to be playing in Atlanta, there’s some very interesting matchups that could potentially be here.”

Wells is also looking forward to the France-Senegal, Croatia-England, and USA-Paraguay matches. “I’m a big Miguel Almirón fan from here in Atlanta for Atlanta United, so I think [USA-Paraguay] is going to be a good matchup,” he said.

Frantzley Raymond, a lifelong Haiti fan, is excited for his team’s placement in Group C. “Today was my day off, so it was a great thing for me to be here and enjoy it,” he said.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19.