Philly is one step closer to knowing the World Cup nations headed to the Linc next summer
On Friday, the 16 nations that could pass through Philly chasing World Cup glory were announced. Who will be here and when will be determined via a second FIFA event on Saturday.
WASHINGTON — We’re one step closer to learning which teams will head to Philly ahead of next summer’s men’s World Cup.
A packed house inside the Kennedy Center featuring world leaders, celebrities, and the delegations of over 40 nations watched as their countries were pulled from pots and slotted into 12 groups in FIFA’s expanded 48-team tournament.
Lincoln Financial Field is scheduled to host six matches, five in the group stage of the tournament and a round of 16 game on July 4. Those early-round matches will be in Groups C, E, I, and L.
Group placements by venue won’t occur until Saturday. At another live event, streamed on FIFA.com, teams will learn their destinations and the kickoff times associated with them.
The four nations in Group C were Brazil. Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland. Philly’s group C match will take place on Friday, June 19, coincidentally on the day the U.S. men’s national team has a game in Group D in Seattle. It will be Haiti’s second World Cup appearance, the last coming in 1974.
Germany, Curaçao, the Ivory Coast, and Ecuador form Group E. The first Group E match will kick off the World Cup games Philly will host on Sunday, June 14, and the second Group E tilt is Thursday, June 25, another matchday on which the U.S. will also have a Group D game in Los Angeles.
» READ MORE: The USMNT will play Paraguay, Australia, and a European qualifier at the 2026 World Cup
Curaçao, which booked its first World Cup appearance in last month’s final World Cup qualifying cycle of the year, enters as the smallest nation by population.
Group I has France, Senegal, Norway, and the winner of a March playoff between Iraq, Bolivia, and Suriname. Philly’s Group I match is scheduled for Monday, June 22.
Finally, Group L is England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. That match, the penultimate in the series of games at the Linc, will kick off on Saturday, June 27. England will open its World Cup campaign against Croatia, a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal. It remains to be seen whether that’ll be in Philly.
It already was known that no host nation will play group matches in Philly as Mexico (Group A1), Canada (B1), and the United States (D1) were predetermined.
Brian Swanson, FIFA’s director of media relations, told The Inquirer that a decision to extend the draw a day to announce the venues was to “allow for greater discussion to take place on the exact locations.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.