DOHA: A World Cup like no other in its 92-year history will take shape this week at an unprecedented tournament draw.
When FIFA and host nation Qatar stage the draw ceremony show Friday, three of the 32 entries will be placeholders because the three-year qualifying program was delayed and is still ongoing.
A once-in-a-century global health crisis and the war in Ukraine made sure of that.
It means 37 nations will be involved on Friday, including five which will ultimately not play in November when the first “winter” World Cup kicks off.
The full lineup will not be known until at least June 14, when the intercontinental playoff round ends in Qatar. That is 74 days after the draw and the same date the 2018 tournament started in Russia, which was thrown out of the final stages of qualifying this time over the invasion of Ukraine.
Maybe FIFA got lucky seven years ago by moving the 2022 tournament to November and December to avoid the searing desert heat of Qatar’s summer.
The later start created wiggle room to clear the match backlog after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out almost every national-team game outside Europe in 2020.
It has also put uncertainty on stage at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Center, where the show Friday starts at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) and lasts one hour.
One of the balls being drawn from pot 4 of low-ranked teams will represent “Peru or Australia or the United Arab Emirates.” Another is “Ukraine or Wales or Scotland.”
So it goes at this major World Cup milestone, in perhaps its most unlikely host nation, on April 1.
Here’s a look at this unusual World Cup draw.
FIRST-TIMER QATAR
One sure thing is Qatar will be the top-seeded team in Group A, taking position A1 in the schedule of 64 matches in just 28 days.
The privilege is given to all host nations even when ranked No. 65 in the world, as Russia was. Qatar is currently No. 52.
Still, the 2019 Asian Cup winner is the exception among modern World Cup hosts, having never before qualified for the finals. Qatar’s debut opens the tournament on Monday, Nov. 21 at Al Bayt Stadium.
It means in the group stage Qatar avoids the world’s top-ranked teams, from Nos. 1 to 7 — Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal.
Those countries will be the next seven drawn out of top-seeded Pot 1 and allocated in turn to Groups B through H.
HOW THE SEEDING WORKS
Seeding pots are filled according to FIFA rankings which weigh results over several years and are officially updated Thursday.
The next eight highest-ranked qualifiers go into Pot 2, which is the second to be drawn. It includes Germany and likely the United States and Mexico after Wednesday’s qualifying games.
Next is Pot 3 with teams ranked in the 20s by FIFA and finally Pot 4 that likely will include Canada despite leading the North American qualifying group. Canada is back in the World Cup after a 36-year gap.
The simple format is now complicated by the three playoff entries delayed to June: The European bracket containing Ukraine, which cannot currently prepare a team, and the two intercontinental playoffs.
FIFA weighted those entries downward into Pot 4 according to the lowest-ranked potential qualifiers, such as Scotland, New Zealand and the UAE.
Higher-ranked playoff teams Peru and Wales face being seeded below their true level.
GEOGRAPHY LESSON
Geography also limits potential matchups. Teams from the same continent generally can’t go in the same group, except for some Europeans. Europe has 13 of the 31 qualifying slots and they cannot all avoid each other.
Five groups get two European teams, and the other three groups each get one. It means 2014 winner Germany from Pot 2 can land with defending champion France.
FIXTURE SCHEDULE
Each four-team group is a round-robin of six games in total. The order each team plays the other is decided by another draw within the ceremony.
After each team is drawn, a subsequent ball — numbered 1, 2, 3 or 4 — is picked to place that country in the fixture grid.
This unpredictability means the two highest-ranked teams in a group could meet in any of the three rounds.
KNOCKOUT STAGE
The 32-team lineup is the perfect number for a knockout bracket. The top two teams in each group — where goal difference is the first tiebreaker — advance to the round of 16.
A team’s path through to the quarterfinals, semifinals and final is set in the bracket. If Qatar advances as the Group A winner, it must then play the Group B runner-up.
Teams which advance from the same group cannot meet again until the final.
GOOD DRAW, BAD DRAW?
Is there a “good” or “bad” section of the draw to land in?
Maybe yes at this congested tournament, which will be four days shorter than the 2018 edition in Russia.
Landing in Group B means starting on Nov. 21 instead of Nov. 24 in Group G or H. That means three extra rest days.
The Group G winner would have to play seven games in just 25 days to win the title. That team also gets just two full days off before a round of 16 game on Dec. 5.
Why is the schedule so tight? This World Cup is jammed into an enforced break in domestic league seasons in Europe.
Reluctant to lose lucrative weekend broadcast slots, Europe’s top leagues ensured they will play through Nov. 13 — just eight days before kickoff in Qatar.
FIFA, Qatar prepare for unprecedented World Cup finals draw
https://arab.news/rnv4t
FIFA, Qatar prepare for unprecedented World Cup finals draw
- When FIFA and host nation Qatar stage the draw ceremony show Friday, three of the 32 entries will be placeholders
- The full lineup will not be known until at least June 14, when the intercontinental playoff round ends in Qatar
Forever Young features among strong field for Saudi Cup 2026
- Title-holder on course to clash with top-level winners from US and Japan in world’s most valuable race
RIYADH: Defending champion Forever Young heads a stellar list of names put forward for this year’s Group 1 $20 million Saudi Cup, which will take place at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
The two-day meeting, which begins on Feb. 13, has attracted 57 individual thoroughbred Group or Grade 1 winners in its entirety and 14 Purebred Arabian Group 1 winners. The nominations, spread among 22 different countries, will be competing for total prize-money of almost $40 million.
Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said: “This is only the seventh time we have staged the Saudi Cup meeting and it has already delivered countless memorable races and performances.
“With the nominations we have received for this year, we can be sure that the spectacular racing will continue. It is wonderful to see such a collection of both familiar and new names from all around the world due to be involved at King Abdulaziz Racecourse next month.”
Officially rated the joint-top dirt horse in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, Forever Young (JPN) has been successful on both his two previous visits to Saudi Arabia, winning the 2024 Saudi Derby before his gallant performance in the world’s most valuable race last year.
Yoshito Yahagi’s superstar, last seen winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, could face a major challenge over the 1,800m from the US.
Former Classic champion White Abarrio (US) and Preakness Stakes victor Journalism (US) have been entered along with rising stars Nysos (US), the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile hero, and Magnitude (US), who beat a smart field in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes last time.
Further strength in depth from Japan could be added by W Heart Bond, the mare who won the recent Champions Cup, as well as Diktaean and Mikki Fight. They were first and second in the Tokyo Daishoten, the race used previously as a launchpad by Forever Young.
Sayyah (US), impressive in the recent Crown Prince Cup, and Star of Wonder (US), who claimed the King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Cup in late December, are among a number of promising Saudi Arabian-trained horses looking to secure a spot in the signature race.
This year’s Neom Turf Cup, sponsored by Howden, has been upgraded to Group 1 status, making it the first top-level turf race staged in the jurisdiction, and the purse has been increased to $3 million.
Charlie Appleby and Godolphin’s Rebel's Romance (IRE), the winner of nine top-level races around the world and a former Breeders’ Cup title-holder, is set to extend that extraordinary record in the 2,100m showdown. The likes of Bahrain International Trophy scorer Royal Champion (IRE) and Aidan O’Brien’s multiple Group 1-placed The Lion In Winter (IRE) could be up against him.
The Group 2 $2.5 million Red Sea Turf Handicap, sponsored by Longines, draws the cream of international stayers. Both Japan’s Durezza (JPN) and Joseph O’Brien’s Irish star Al-Riffa (FR) have been given entries for this race and the Neom Turf, while last year’s fourth Presage Nocturne (IRE) has improved again for Alessandro Botti.
This year’s Group 2 $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint, sponsored by SHG, could be an absolute cracker with entries headed by Jose d’Angelo’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint sensation Shisospicy (US) and Europe’s leading sprinter and Royal Ascot winner Lazzat (FR).
Similarly, the Group 2 $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint has drawn the cream of the international speedsters, including Book’em Danno and Shisospicy’s Breeders’ Cup-winning stablemate Bentornato, from the US, and two incredible talents from the UAE in Bhupat Seemar’s prolific Tuz (US) and last year’s Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Dark Saffron (US) for Ahmad bin Harmash.
Khamal (CHI), stylish winner of the Group 1 Premio Derby Nacional in Peru in late November, is among the jet-setting entries in the Group 3 $1.5 million Saudi Derby, sponsored by Zood Realty.
The card on Friday, Feb. 13 includes the International Jockey Challenge while the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap, sponsored by Lucid, has attracted potential runners trained as far afield as Bahrain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Oman, Qatar and Spain.
There are two Group 1 races for Purebred Arabians across the weekend. The main turf event, the $1.5 million Al-Mneefah Cup, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, was taken in brave fashion in 2025 by RB Kingmaker (US) and Helal Alalawi’s grey is set for a return visit.
The $2 million Obaiyah Arabian Classic, the principal event on dirt, was won spectacularly last year by the decorated Tilal Al-Khalediah (KS), who could feature again in a strong field from around the Gulf region.
Alalawi has entered not only RB Kingmaker but HM Alchahine (FR), who was a commanding winner over his third-placed stablemate in the Group 1 HH The President Cup in Abu Dhabi last time.
“We are delighted and honored that so many people have chosen to aim their horses for the 2026 Saudi Cup races and, on behalf of everyone at the JCSA, I would like to extend our gratitude to those owners and trainers,” Prince Bandar said.
“Year-on-year, thanks to the vision of our leadership, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his royal highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the crown prince and prime minister — may God protect them — the Saudi Cup has evolved into The Kingdom’s key sporting and social event.
“It has been especially pleasing to see the races recognised by the international authorities, too. The Saudi Cup has held Group 1 status since 2022 but we will now be staging our first ever Group 1 race on grass, the Neom Turf Cup, after its consistent level of performance.
“The Saudi Cup meeting is not only about world-class racing; it is a celebration of the horse as well as the culture and the hospitality of the Kingdom. The list of nominations only increases the excitement and we look forward to welcoming connections and racing fans alike next month for an event that has quickly made a huge impact on the global calendar.”
