The World Cup draw is usually a spectacle. This time, FIFA hopes bigger is better

NEW YORK (AP) — A record 64 nations will be in Friday's World Cup draw, more than 30% of FIFA's members, as soccer's leaders insist a bigger tournament is better.

FIFA expanded the field from 32 teams to 48, and just 42 spots have been determined going into the convoluted ceremony in which balls representing nations are plucked from bowls and assigned to groups per rules that restrict who goes where. Twenty-two teams in Friday's draw are headed to playoffs that determine the final six berths on March 31.

There will be 104 games instead of 64 in the World Cup running from June 11 through July 19 at 16 venues throughout North America. Seventy-eight games will be at 11 NFL stadiums, including all from the quarterfinals on, and 13 each in Mexico and Canada. The final is at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where there will be a halftime show for the first time.

In addition to 12 group winners and second-place nations, eight third-place teams advance to a new round of 32. The World Cup winner will play eight games.

“I’ve always thought that what FIFA should do is do it like the Final Four and do 64 teams with no groups, just a knockout,” said Alan Rothenberg, the head organizer of the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., comparing soccer with the NCAA basketball tournament.

Led by captain Lionel Messi, who turns 39 during the tournament, Argentina seeks to become the first nation to win consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Messi and Portugal's 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo are expected to play in a record sixth World Cup.

Cape Verde (ranked No. 68), Curaçao (82), Jordan (66) and Uzbekistan (50) have qualified for the first time and four playoff teams could become debutantes: Albania (63), Kosovo (80), New Caledonia (149) and Suriname (123).

Curaçao, an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands kingdom, is the smallest nation by population to qualify,

Haiti is in for the first time since 1974 and Austria, Norway and Scotland for the first time since 1998.

“I’m a little bit worried,” said former U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller, now an ESPN analyst. “We talked about it when they expanded from 24 that it was going to leave some teams that got into the World Cup that weren’t quite at the level, and now expanding it to 48 I think you’re looking at some teams that are going to really struggle.”

FIFA has set record initial prices of up to $6,730 for a ticket along with as much as $175 for a parking place and $73,200 for a hospitality package — up from $25 to $475 for the 1994 tournament in the U.S.

Almost 2 million tickets among what is expected to be more than 6 million have been sold, the governing body said.

“I’m not sure that FIFA’s number one goal is to grow the sport in America,” former U.S. goalkeeper Tony Meola said. “I always hate that people miss out on this because they get priced out of it.”

Ticket holders who require visas to enter the U.S. have been promised priority appointment scheduling by the U.S. government.

A key could be whether teams are drawn to play in open-air stadiums where summer heat could be a factor. Only four of the 11 U.S. World Cup venues have roofs, including one that isn’t temperature controlled.

At this year’s Club World Cup in the U.S., six games were delayed by weather for a total of 8 hours, 29 minutes.

“I will be interested when we find out the teams, as to who is playing in indoor climate-controlled venues more as opposed to outdoor, because I do think that there is a significant difference and obviously a potential competitive advantage,” said former American defender Alexi Lalas, Fox’s lead analyst.

Kickoff times will be announced Saturday. The average noon temperature over the past 30 years in East Rutherford on July 19 is 84 degrees with a RealFeel index of 91, according to AccuWeather.

The 1994 World Cup draw in Las Vegas featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, James Brown and Vanessa Williams plus comedian Robin Williams, who called the draw screen “the world’s largest keno board” and yelled “Bingo!” when Greece was pulled out of a bowl.

This draw figures to be more akin to the December 2017 ceremony in Moscow, opened by Russia President Vladimir Putin.

After negotiating to hold this month’s event in Las Vegas, FIFA placed it to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, taken over this year by President Donald Trump and his supporters. Trump, who mingled among Chelsea players on the awards stand after the Club World Cup final last summer, is expected to be at the draw along with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Retired stars Tom Brady of the NFL, Shaquille O’Neal of the NBA and Wayne Gretzky of the NHL along with three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge will be on stage for the draw, to be run by former England captain Rio Ferdinand with broadcaster Samantha Johnson. Brady, O'Neal and Judge are American and Gretzky is Canadian, but there is no Mexican sports representative.

Model Heidi Klum co-hosts Friday along with actors Kevin Hart and Danny Ramirez, and entertainment includes Tony Award and Olivier Award winner Nicole Scherzinger, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams. The Village People will perform Trump favorite “Y.M.C.A.” and FIFA will award its own peace prize, likely to Trump. Former NFL star Eli Manning will be the red carpet host.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Tailgaters gather outside MetLife Stadium before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi arrives for an MLS Eastern Conference final soccer match against New York FC, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Leeds United in Manchester, England, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

SYDNEY (AP) — An attack at one of the world’s most famous beaches killed 16 people, including a child, Australian officials said Monday, after two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an act of antisemitic terrorism.

Hundreds of people had gathered at the beach for an event to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, when gunmen opened fire. At least 38 others were injured in the attack.

New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park said the death toll had risen from 12 to 16 overnight, including a 12-year-old child. Three other children are being treated in hospital, he said.

“This is absolutely horrendous for the community broadly, but particularly the Jewish community. ... What we saw last night was the worst of humanity, but at the same time, the very best of humanity,” Park said.

The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular beaches followed a wave of antisemitic attacks that have roiled the country over the past year, although the authorities didn’t suggest those and Sunday’s shooting were connected. It is the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.

One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second was arrested and in critical condition, authorities said. Police said one gunman was known to security services, but there was no specific threat.

At least 29 people were confirmed wounded, including two police officers, said Mal Lanyon, police commissioner for New South Wales state, where Sydney is located.

Police said officers were examining a number of suspicious items, including improvised explosive devices found in one of the suspect’s car.

“This attack was designed to target Sydney's Jewish community,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said.

The violence erupted at the end of a summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach, including hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.

Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach around the world and sponsors public events during major Jewish holidays, identified one of the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the event.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of an Israeli citizen, but gave no further details.

Police said emergency services were called to Campbell Parade in Bondi about 6:45 p.m. responding to reports of shots being fired. Video filmed by onlookers showed people in bathing suits running from the water as shots rang out. Separate footage showed two men in black shirts firing with long guns from a footbridge leading to the beach, as sirens wailed and people cried out in the background.

One dramatic clip broadcast on Australian television showed a man appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen, before pointing the man’s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground.

Minns called the man, named by relatives to Australian media as fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, a “genuine hero.”

Arsen Ostrovsky, a lawyer attending the Hanukkah ceremony with his wife and daughters, was grazed in the head by a bullet. Ostrovsky said he moved from Israel to Australia two weeks ago to work for a Jewish advocacy group.

“What I saw today was pure evil, just an absolute bloodbath. Bodies strewn everywhere,” he told The Associated Press in an email from the hospital. “It was like reliving Oct. 7 all over."

"I never thought would be possible here in Australia."

Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, told the AP he was waiting for his family when he heard shots. He dropped the beer he was carrying and ran.

"I sprinted as quickly as I could," Moran said. He said he heard shooting off and on for about five minutes. “Everyone just dropped all their possessions and everything and were running and people were crying and it was just horrible."

Albanese told reporters in the capital, Canberra, that he was “devastated” by the massacre.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith. An act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said.

He vowed the violence would be met with “a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith.”

King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack.” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on X he was horrified, and his “heart is with the Jewish community worldwide.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X: “The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration. Antisemitism has no place in this world.”

Police in cities around the world, including London, said they would step up security at Jewish sites.

Australia, a country of 28 million people, is home to about 117,000 Jews, according to official figures. Antisemitic incidents, including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation, surged more than threefold in the country during the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel launched a war on Hamas in Gaza in response, the government's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported in July.

Last year, the country was rocked by antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Synagogues and cars were torched, businesses and homes graffitied and Jews attacked in those cities, where 85% of the nation’s Jewish population lives.

Albanese in August blamed Iran for two of the attacks and cut diplomatic ties to Tehran.

Pastor Matt Graham was conducting a service at Bondi Anglican Church when panicked people began entering for shelter. He said antisemitism has been brewing in Sydney’s eastern suburbs including Bondi, where the Jewish community is centered.

"I’m surrounded by antisemitic graffiti constantly. I think for our community in the east (of Sydney), and as a Christian, I just want to declare I stand with the people of Israel,” Graham told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Israel urged Australia's government to address crimes targeting Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he warned Australia’s leaders months ago about the dangers of failing to take action against antisemitism. He claimed Australia's decision — in line with scores of other countries — to recognize a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.”

“Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia ... and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today,” Netanyahu said.

Mass shootings in Australia are extremely rare. A 1996 massacre in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, where a lone gunman killed 35 people, prompted the government to drastically tighten gun laws, making it much more difficult to acquire firearms.

Significant mass shootings this century included two murder-suicides with death tolls of five people in 2014 and seven in 2018, in which gunmen killed their own families and themselves.

In 2022, six people were killed in a shootout between police and Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state.

McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia, and Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mustakim Hasnath in London contributed to this report.

A motorcycle lies on the ground in the early morning near the site of a shooting Sunday at Sydney's Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A small Christmas tree is at the center of an abandoned holiday picnic at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Bystanders stay where police cordon off an area at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers standby at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)