Donald Trump, Kevin Hart and Aaron Judge walk into a concert hall.
No, really, Donald Trump, Kevin Hart and Aaron Judge will walk into a concert hall. All three are among the influx of celebrities, star athletes and heads of state who will be in attendance Friday at the Kennedy Center for the World Cup draw, which will officially start the countdown clock to June 11, when the tournament itself kicks off in Mexico City.
The list of recognizable names who will be at the draw includes three heads of state (Trump, Canadian PM Mark Carney, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum), Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady, Judge, the Village People and Andrea Bocelli.
There is, also, a crucial sporting component to the whole thing. The Post explains everything you need to know about the draw (Noon, Fox).
How does the draw work?
Think of it as similar to Selection Sunday. After the draw, we’ll know the group stage matchups for the World Cup, plus the potential pathways through the knockout stage for each team, depending where they finish in the group.
So, to make up an example, if England, Morocco, Algeria and Haiti are together in Group B, you’ll know that England is playing those three teams and that if it wins Group B, it will face a third-place team from Groups E, F, G, I or J in the Round of 32.
Who can play who?
There are four pots. Each of the 12 groups being drawn Friday will be made up of one team from each pot. The makeup of the pots is as follows:
Pot 1: USA, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Playoff A, European Playoff B, European Playoff C, European Playoff D, FIFA Playoff 1, FIFA Playoff 2
What’s the format of the groups? How do you advance?
Each team plays the other three teams in its group in a round-robin format, with three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss. The top two teams in each group advance, and so will eight best third-place teams. The third-place teams will be ranked on points, with goal differential and goals scored as the first two tiebreakers.
Is anything different with a 48-team World Cup?
Yes. Previously, the top two teams in each group were the only ones to advance, and there were just eight groups. So 16 extra teams will make the knockout stage, adding a Round of 32 in addition to the Round of 16.
Why is it at the Kennedy Center?
Well, that’s a complicated question. But to distill it to three words: dollars and sense.
What are all these celebrities doing there?
Officially, Rio Ferdinand is there to conduct the draw alongside broadcaster Samantha Johnson. Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal are “draw assistants.” Eli Manning will host the red carpet. Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum and Danny Ramirez are hosting the event, with live performances from Andrea Bocelli, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and the Village People.
Unofficially, they’re all there to help attract as many eyeballs as possible, particularly for an American audience.
What will President Trump be doing?
There’s not an official role for President Trump, or either of the other two heads of state — Carney and Shainbaum — for the draw itself. It is likely, though, that Trump will win FIFA’s Inaugural Peace Prize for his role in securing a ceasefire in the Middle East as well as the release of Israeli hostages.
Trump has gotten close with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and has been hands-on in planning and promoting the World Cup, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was in front of the cameras at some point.
There’s a schedule reveal happening Saturday, so what will we know about the schedule Friday?
You’ll know who is playing who during pool play, and on what day each team is playing. Aside from the U.S., Mexico and Canada, though, you won’t know which matchup is on which day, or the exact time and location of those matchups.
Who’s in those playoff spots and when does that get decided?
Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica, Suriname, Bolivia and New Caledonia are in FIFA’s intercontinental playoff, from which two teams will make it. New Caledonia plays Jamaica and Bolivia plays Suriname in the March 26 semifinals. Iraq and the DRC both got a bye into the finals, which will be played March 31.
The European playoffs happen on the same dates, except there are 16 teams in it and four will advance into the World Cup. Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland are in one bracket. Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania are in another. Slovakia, Kosovo, Türkiye and Romania are in the third. Czechia, Ireland, Denmark and North Macedonia are in the fourth.
