Although we’ve known when and how many games Seattle will be hosting in this summer’s World Cup for almost two years, the exact opponents have remained unknown even as tickets have been on sale for months.
Seattle fans will need to be just a little more patient. While the tournament's draw is being held on Friday at 9 AM PT in Washington, D.C. (airing on Fox, Telemundo and FIFA.com), we won't actually find out where the vast majority of games will be played until 24 hours later. In a change from past World Cups, the exact timing of the matchups will be announced in a separate event in an effort that “aims to ensure the best possible conditions for all teams and spectators while, where possible, enabling fans all over the world to watch their teams play live across different time zones.”
What we know
Seattle will be hosting four of those group-stage matches and then Rounds of 32 (July 1) and 16 (July 6) matches later in the tournament.
The one match we'll know for sure after Friday's draw is the United States' second group-stage match, which will be against the opponent it draws from Pot 2. With the four pots having already been determined mostly based on FIFA rankings, the USA’s possible opponents for that game are Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia. Only the hosts have pre-assigned groups, meaning Seattle’s other three group stage games could include virtually any of the other participants.
Seattle will also host the second Group G match (June 15), a final-day Group B match (June 24) and final-day Group G match (June 26).
The tournament will feature 48 teams in total, but so far only 42 have been determined. The final six spots will go to four European teams who are still competing in playoffs, plus the winners of two Intercontinental playoffs. All six of those teams will be placed in Pot 4.
Once all that is settled, FIFA will reconvene at 9 AM on Saturday to actually determine the locations and times of each match in another event that will air on FIFA.com. Fans will then need to wait until Dec. 11 to actually buy tickets for those matches.
Pots
Pot 1: Canada (Concacaf), Mexico (Concacaf), United States (Concacaf), Spain (UEFA), Argentina (CONMEBOL), France (UEFA), England (UEFA), Brazil (CONMEBOL), Portugal (UEFA), Netherlands (UEFA), Belgium (UEFA), Germany (UEFA)
Pot 2: Croatia (UEFA), Morocco (CAF), Colombia (CONMEBOL), Uruguay (CONMEBOL), Switzerland (UEFA), Japan (AFC), Senegal (CAF), Iran (AFC), South Korea (AFC), Ecuador (CONMEBOL), Austria (UEFA), Australia (AFC)
Pot 3: Norway (UEFA), Panama (Concacaf), Egypt (CAF), Algeria (CAF), Scotland (UEFA), Paraguay (CONMEBOL), Tunisia (CAF), Ivory Coast (CAF), Uzbekistan (AFC), Qatar (AFC), Saudi Arabia (AFC), South Africa (CAF)
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde (CAF), Ghana (CAF), Curaçao (Concacaf), Haiti (Concacaf), New Zealand (Oceania), UEFA Playoff A (Italy vs. Northern Ireland; Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina), UEFA Playoff B (Ukraine vs. Sweden; Poland vs. Albania); UEFA Playoff C (Turkey vs. Romania; Slovakia vs. Kosovo); UEFA Playoff D (Denmark vs. North Macedonia; Czechia vs. Ireland); FIFA Intercontinental Playoff Tournament 1 (New Caledonia vs. Jamaica; Congo DR); FIFA Intercontinental Playoff Tournament 2 (Bolivia vs. Suriname; Iraq)
World Cup schedule
Group stage: June 11-27
Round of 32: June 28 - July 3
Round of 16: July 4-7
Quarterfinals: July 9-11
Semifinals: July 14-15
Third place: July 18
Final: July 19
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the location of each game would be announced on Friday. That has been corrected.
