Geneva, Nov 26: The 2026 World Cup draw next week will reward the four highest-ranked teams – Spain, Argentina, France and England – who will be placed in separate sections of a new tennis-style seeded tournament bracket.
FIFA said the top four teams in the latest men’s rankings will, if they finish top of their respective round-robin groups, avoid each other until the semifinals of the June 11-July 19 tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Defending champion Argentina with Lionel Messi and top-ranked European champion Spain with Lamine Yamal therefore can ensure they do not meet until the final at MetLife Stadium near New York.
“To ensure competitive balance, two separate pathways to the semifinals have been established,” FIFA said in a statement, aiming to reward teams whose consistent good results have raised their world ranking.
At previous World Cups, the path for teams into and through the knockout phase was decided by which group they were drawn into.
The draw ceremony for the first 48-team World Cup will be held December 5 at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC, in the presence of US President Donald Trump.
The 42 teams that already qualified include Iran and Haiti which FIFA expects will play exactly where they are drawn regardless of complicated politics those countries have with the US.
The other six entries will be decided in March when European and global playoffs brackets are scheduled, and those teams all will come out of the draw pot of lowest-ranked teams. (AP)
