Five former stars of the global game – Ariane Hingst, Fernando Llorente, Gianluca Zambrotta, Rachel Yankey and Robert Pires – have been announced as the draw assistants for the upcoming UEFA Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26™. The event will take place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, at 12:00 CET on Friday, 13 December, with the UEFA-affiliated member associations set to discover their path to the groundbreaking tournament to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Four of the five assistants – Hingst, Llorente, Pires and Zambrotta – have tasted glory in the FIFA World Cup™/FIFA Women’s World Cup™. The quartet will be joined by former England international Yankey, who is one of the most decorated players in the women’s game and was the Lionesses’ record appearance maker with 129 caps when she made her last national-team outing in 2013. The draw will be presented by sports broadcaster Semra Hunter and conducted by Chief Tournament Officer – FIFA World Cup 26, Manolo Zubiria. Draw assistants Ariane Hingst Hingst enjoyed a trophy-laden international career with Germany, during which she won the 2003 and 2007 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup – making the All-Star Squad in the latter instalment – and lifted the UEFA European Women’s Championship on four occasions. The former defender/defensive midfielder retired from the international game in 2011 as Germany’s third-most capped player (173 appearances).

Fernando Llorente Llorente was a member of the Spain squad that triumphed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, he won a bronze medal at the 2009 edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup and claimed the Silver Shoe at the FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands 2005 courtesy of his five-goal haul. A talented target man, Llorente won domestic titles in Spain and Italy, as well as helping Tottenham to the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League final.

Gianluca Zambrotta Known both for his defensive and attacking prowess, Zambrotta’s international career saw him make a host of key contributions to the Azzurri’s success on the world stage. He played a pivotal role in Italy’s victorious FIFA World Cup campaign in 2006, when they won the crown for a fourth time after defeating France in the final. Over the course of his career, Zambrotta earned 98 international caps, which yielded two goals, as he established himself as one of the most reliable full-backs of his era.

Rachel Yankey Yankey is amongst the most celebrated figures in English women’s football. During her playing days, the former England attacker was renowned for her dazzling wing play and exceptional creativity. She enjoyed an international career that spanned nearly two decades, during which time she clocked up 129 caps and plundered 19 goals to cement herself as one of her national team’s most respected players. On the club front, Yankey won the English top-tier title on seven occasions, captured the FA Women’s Cup 11 times and secured the UEFA Women’s Cup once.

Robert Pires Frenchman Pires lifted the FIFA World Cup on home soil in 1998 before contributing to his nation’s triumph at UEFA EURO 2000. He then tasted glory at the 2001 and 2003 editions of the FIFA Confederations Cup, being awarded both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe accolades at the 2001 tournament. Primarily a left-winger, the former Arsenal man was part of Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles side that went the entire 2003-04 Premier League season unbeaten.

The draw ceremony Fans around the world will be able to follow the draw live on FIFA.com, FIFA+ and through FIFA’s broadcast partners. The draw procedures detailing how the pots will be emptied and the groups will be formed are published on FIFA.com.

The expansion of FIFA’s flagship event ahead of the 2026 instalment has seen the number of places for UEFA national teams increase from 13 to 16. It will be the most inclusive edition of the tournament yet, featuring a total of 48 teams for the first time. The UEFA qualifying group stage will begin in March 2025 and conclude in November 2025. It will follow a familiar format, with 12 groups of four or five teams and the group winners securing a place at the showpiece event. The four remaining berths will be decided in March 2026 in a 16-team UEFA play-off involving the 12 group-stage runners-up and the four best-ranked 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group winners that have neither qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup 26 as group winners nor entered the play-offs already as group runners-up.