The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially took shape Friday with a star-studded draw led by Rio Ferdinand and assisted by Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge, Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Brady, setting the stage for the largest tournament in event history — and placing Los Angeles at the center of the action.

On Friday, FIFA held the draw for the largest World Cup ever, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11, 2026, through July 19, 2026.

Argentina and Lionel Messi will play Algeria to open its World Cup title defense as part of a group that also includes Austria

As co-hosts alongside Canada and the United States, Mexico was an automatic qualifier for the 2026 World Cup. This will be the ninth consecutive World Cup appearance for El Tri, which failed to get out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup had reached the Round of 16 in each of the seven World Cups prior.