The road to Hangzhou now has a map. On Tuesday 20 October, shortly after the draw that the WKF had scheduled live from Madrid, the World Karate Federation published the groups of the Karate World Cup 2026 on its official channels, with a message that sums up the stakes: "The groups for the Karate World Cup 2026 are officially set! Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals!" Four team categories, four groups of five nations in each, and twenty teams per category chasing a single gold medal: the second edition of the world championship for national teams, to be held from 20 to 22 November in the capital of Zhejiang province, now knows who will face whom on the tatami.
A format that leaves no room for error
The rules, set out in the official bulletin, make every group match count. In each category the twenty teams play a round-robin within their group of five, and only the first two go on to the quarter-finals. The winners of those quarter-finals meet in the semi-finals, the two beaten semi-finalists contest a single bronze medal, and each category therefore crowns one gold, one silver and one bronze. With one team per country per category, the draw also produces a striking geography: some nations are spread across all four categories, and the same flags recur from one group to the next. The list also includes WKF-1, the WKF's own designation, which appears in Group A of both male team kata and male team kumite.
Male team kata
Group A brings together Spain, DR Congo, WKF-1, the host nation China and New Zealand. Group B features Türkiye, beaten finalists in Pamplona two years ago, with Colombia, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Hong Kong. Italy leads Group C ahead of Kuwait, Canada, Germany and Chinese Taipei, while Japan, who won a fourteenth world crown and a fifth in a row in this category in 2024, will open their campaign in Group D against Algeria, Venezuela, Portugal and Poland.
- Group A: Spain, DR Congo, WKF-1, China, New Zealand
- Group B: Türkiye, Colombia, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong
- Group C: Italy, Kuwait, Canada, Germany, Chinese Taipei
- Group D: Japan, Algeria, Venezuela, Portugal, Poland
Female team kata
In female team kata, Japan, fifteen times world champions in the category and winners in Pamplona against Portugal, will open their campaign in Group D with Egypt, France, Germany and Colombia. Portugal, for their part, head Group B with China, the Czech Republic, Peru and Algeria. Spain will start in Group A against Brazil, Hong Kong, Montenegro and Morocco, and Italy in Group C against Türkiye, Iran, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei.
- Group A: Spain, Brazil, Hong Kong, Montenegro, Morocco
- Group B: Portugal, China, Czech Republic, Peru, Algeria
- Group C: Italy, Türkiye, Iran, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei
- Group D: Japan, Egypt, France, Germany, Colombia
Male team kumite
In the category of the long, seven- or eight-man squads, Egypt, who won their first world title in male team kumite in Pamplona, will defend it in Group D alongside France, Malaysia, Mexico and Uzbekistan. Iran, beaten 3–0 by the Egyptians in the 2024 final, lead Group B with Australia, Montenegro, Algeria and China. Japan open Group A against WKF-1, Türkiye, Senegal and Guatemala, and Italy take on Jordan, Georgia, Chile and Tunisia in Group C.
- Group A: Japan, WKF-1, Türkiye, Senegal, Guatemala
- Group B: Iran, Australia, Montenegro, Algeria, China
- Group C: Italy, Jordan, Georgia, Chile, Tunisia
- Group D: Egypt, France, Malaysia, Mexico, Uzbekistan
Female team kumite
The two finalists of 2024 have been drawn in different groups. Japan, champions for the first time since 2006 after a 2–0 final win, will meet Mexico, Germany, Algeria and Azerbaijan in Group D, while the United States, whose silver in Pamplona was the best result in the history of American women's kumite, top Group B with Australia, China, Croatia and Tunisia. Group A pairs Spain and France with Venezuela, Vietnam and Indonesia, and Group C brings Italy together with Egypt, Chile, Iran and Austria.
- Group A: Spain, France, Venezuela, Vietnam, Indonesia
- Group B: United States, Australia, China, Croatia, Tunisia
- Group C: Italy, Egypt, Chile, Iran, Austria
- Group D: Japan, Mexico, Germany, Algeria, Azerbaijan
One month to Linping
The teams now have a month to study their opponents before the competition at the Sports Center Gymnasium in Hangzhou's Linping district, a 4,200-seat hall that has already hosted the karate event of the 19th Asian Games. According to the competition programme, Friday 20 November will be devoted to female kata and male kumite, with the group phase and quarter-finals, and Saturday 21 to male kata and female kumite, before the semi-finals of all four categories in the late afternoon. The medal matches are scheduled for Sunday 22 November, from 11:00 local time with male team kata, until the male kumite final at 16:45. The whole event will be streamed on the WKF YouTube channel, with the eliminations open worldwide and the medal bouts reserved for members of the channel's "Karate Fans" programme. Pamplona wrote the first chapter of the Karate World Cup; the groups drawn on 20 October have now opened the second.
Photo: WKF
Sources
- World Karate Federation – official Facebook page, draw post (20 October 2026)
- WKF – Karate World Cup Draw to Take Place Live on 20 October (8 October 2026)
- WKF – 2026 Karate World Cup, event page
- WKF – 2026 Karate World Cup Hangzhou, bulletin (PDF)
- WKF – Karate World Cup Hangzhou, competition programme (PDF)
- WKF – Japan Dominates as Spectacular and Historic Karate World Cup Wraps Up in Pamplona (24 November 2024)
- WKF – Team USA Celebrates Historic Silver Medal at Karate World Cup (27 November 2024)
