Bafana in pot 3 for World Cup draw with teams like Norway, Egypt and Scotland

Reuters and Marc Strydom

Spain cannot meet Argentina and France will not face England before the World Cup final — provided they win their groups — after Fifa on Tuesday announced the draw procedure.

Bafana Bafana are in pot 3 for their first World Cup since South Africa hosted the global showpiece in 2010.

Fifa’s new rule aims to maintain competitive balance in the expanded 48-team format, ensuring the top-ranked team (Spain) and No 2 (world champions Argentina) are in opposite halves of the bracket, with the same applying to No 3 (France) and No 4 (England).

The top four seeded countries will not be able to meet until the semifinals for the first time in the tournament’s history if those teams win their groups.

The 2026 World Cup draw takes place on December 5 in Washington, with the updated match schedule, including stadiums and kickoff times, to be released on December 6.

Hosts Canada, Mexico and the US are in pot 1, which includes Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Pot 2 has Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia.

Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Bafana have qualified for their first World Cup other than as hosts in 23 years, since Japan and Korea in 2002.

Pot 4 will be Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand; the winners from the European play-off A, B, C and D and the Fifa Play-Off tournament 1 and 2.

The draw guarantees Hugo Broos’ South Africans at least one ‘weak’ team in their group, while

Confederation constraints will apply, with no group having more than one team from the same region except Uefa, which has 16 representatives and can place up to two teams in a group.

The top two teams from 12 groups plus eight best runners-up reach the last 32.

The tournament in Mexico, Canada and the US kicks off on June 11, with the final in New Jersey on July 19.