The 2026 World Cup will come to Canada, Mexico, and the US of America subsequent summer time.
A large 104 video games might be performed over the five-and-a-half weeks of the match, which is a great deal of soccer when you consider it. So what is the format for the competitors?
We admire that quite a lot of this might be instructing lots of you tips on how to suck eggs, however not everyone seems to be a seasoned soccer fan, so simply pipe down and skip forward if we’re telling you something you already know.
What number of teams will there be on the 2026 World Cup group stage?
When it was agreed the match would increase to 48 groups in 2026, it was initially introduced that the group stage could be performed in 16 teams of three groups with the highest two from every group going by way of to the knockouts.
After six years of arguments that this might lead to sides being extra more likely to play out mutually handy outcomes a la 1982’s Shame of Gijon (or, extra contentiously, Euro 2004’s alleged ‘Scandi stitch-up’).
FIFA subsequently determined as a substitute to stay with four-team teams – 12 of them in complete, naturally. Nevertheless, 32 groups will nonetheless undergo to the group stage, which makes issues slightly bit sophisticated.
Who will play who within the group stage on the 2026 World Cup?
Woah there tiger, we have not even completed the qualifying levels but, so we do not know.
The draw might be made in December, although, and will probably be seeded based mostly on FIFA world rankings, as follows:
- Pot 1: The 9 best-ranked qualifying groups, plus the three host nations
- Pot 2: The subsequent best-ranked 12 groups
- Pot 3: The subsequent best-ranked 12 groups after that
- Pot 4: The six lowest-ranked groups, plus the 2 inter-confederation play-off winners and the 4 UEFA play-off winners
One workforce from every pot will go into every group, and every group might be designated with letters from A to L.
Groups from the identical confederation (i.e. identical continent, roughly) cannot be drawn in the identical group, besides European sides, of which there should be not more than two in every group.
The three host nations have already been designated their teams to make sure their video games all happen of their dwelling nation. Meaning Mexico are in Group A, Canada are in Group B, and the USA are in – you guessed it – group…oh, they’re in group D, for some cause. You did not guess it.
Which sides undergo from the group stage on the 2026 World Cup?
These of you who’ve watched the previous three Euros ought to be capable to choose it up pretty rapidly, because it’s successfully the identical format as these, solely twice as massive.
For the uninitiated or forgetful, here is the way it works. Everybody in every group performs one another as soon as. The high two sides from every group routinely qualify for the spherical of 32, i.e. the primary knockout stage. That offers us 24 groups.
The remaining slots are crammed by the eight best-ranked third-placed groups.
How are the tables calculated within the 2026 World Cup group stage?
It is the standard three factors for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat, after all.
If two or extra sides have the identical variety of factors, the tiebreakers are as follows, in descending order of priority. (And sure, factors 2 and three are completely redundant if there’s solely two sides concerned within the tiebreak course of.)
- Most factors obtained in head-to-head video games between the edges in query
- Purpose distinction in head-to-head video games between the edges in query
- Objectives scored in head-to-head video games between the edges in query
- Purpose distinction in ALL group matches
- Objectives scored in ALL group matches
- Greatest disciplinary document (purple and yellow playing cards)
- Most up-to-date FIFA world rating
- If two or extra sides nonetheless cannot be separated, then they will return to the earlier FIFA world rating, repeating if obligatory till they are often distinguished
How are the most effective third-placed sides calculated on the 2026 World Cup group stage?
The rating for the most effective third-placed sides is barely totally different.
FIFA will primarily put all of the third-placed sides right into a single 12-team league desk and rank them on the next standards, in descending order of precendence
- Most factors
- Greatest aim distinction
- Objectives scored
- Greatest disciplinary document (yellow and purple playing cards)
- Most up-to-date FIFA world rating
- If two or extra sides nonetheless cannot be separated, then they will return to the earlier FIFA world rating, repeating if obligatory till they are often distinguished
For the avoidance of doubt, that does imply it is doable for a facet to complete fourth of their group and exit of the match, regardless of having extra factors than a number of of the third-placed sides who have progress to the subsequent spherical (as occurred to Ukraine at Euro 2024). And that is simply robust.
How is the draw for the knockout levels on the 2026 World Cup made?
It is not, actually. The paths all the way in which from the spherical of 32 to the ultimate are already mapped out based mostly on 1) who comes the place by which group and a pair of) who comes the place within the rating of the most effective third-placed groups.
The venues and dates for every knockout recreation are additionally already pre-selected; so for example, the winners from group F will play the runners-up from group C on June 29 in Guadalupe, Mexico.
We’ll spare you the entire bracket as a result of it is actually lengthy and boring and in the end form of meaningless in the meanwhile given we do not know what the teams are, but when for some cause you are all for a load of letters, the bracket is on Wikipedia.
However in brief, the pre-planned route runs all the way in which from the Spherical of 32 to the ultimate.
What number of knockout rounds are there on the 2026 World Cup?
5.
That is an exceptionally quick reply so to fill a spot, here is the dates and what number of video games there are in every spherical:
- Spherical of 32: 16 video games, from June 29 to July 3
- Spherical of 16: 8 video games, from July 5 to July 7
- Quarter-finals: 4 video games, from July 9 to July 11
- Semi-finals: 2 video games, on July 14 and July 15
- Remaining: 1 recreation, on July 19
- (There’s additionally a third-place play-off on July 18 however no person cares about that very a lot.)
