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2026 FIFA World Cup megathread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter titusbramble
- Start date
B Maverick
Footballguy
I get it. You are either playing McT or the Norwegian McT. Damned either way.
Moe.
Footballguy
I'd expect some upsets in the UEFA Playoff since it's all single elimination, but I think I would prefer it if each playoff path were placed into a pot based on the highest ranked team in that path. I do not like all of those UEFA teams in pot 4 and think we're going to get really unbalanced groups.
El Floppo
Footballguy
QG has, as always, been covering this brilliantly... I'm copying in an article from ESPN in case it's got some more up to the moment info...
The top-seeded teams for the Dec. 5 World Cup tournament draw, including Germany but not Croatia, were set Wednesday when FIFA published new rankings the day after four continents completed qualifying.
Co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico will be joined in the pot of No. 1 seeds by top-ranked Spain, defending champions Argentina, France, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Croatia, semifinalists in 2022 and beaten finalists by France in 2018, were edged down into Pot 2 for the draw ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend.
The updated FIFA rankings also decided seeding for the draw Thursday for playoff brackets in March that will decide the final six entries in the expanded 48-nation lineup.
The 22 playoff teams include 16 in Europe playing for four World Cup places and six from the other regions chasing two spots in the intercontinental brackets.
Italy are the headliner in the European brackets as the four-time world champions aim to avoid a humiliating third straight exit in the playoffs.
The 12th-ranked Italians were pushed into the playoffs after finishing as runners-up in a qualifying group won by Norway. Erling Haaland's Norwegian team shapes up as a dangerous option from Pot 3 in two weeks' time.
Italy will be drawn Thursday at home against a fourth-seeded team. That could again be North Macedonia, who shockingly eliminated the Italians in 2022.
The winner on March 26 advances to a playoff final five days later against the team that emerges from the No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed pairing in its knockout bracket. Home advantage in the single-game playoff finals will be decided by the draw Thursday and not FIFA ranking.
The teams that eventually emerge from the four separate European playoff brackets are expected to be placeholders from low-ranked Pot 4 in the Dec. 5 draw.
The intercontinental brackets will see top-seeded Iraq and Congo each await the winner of playoff semifinals that involve Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.
European playoffs seedings
Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine.
Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czechia, Slovakia.
Pot 3: Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo.
Pot 4: Northern Ireland, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia.
Intercontinental playoffs
Seeded: DR Congo, Iraq.
Unseeded: Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Suriname.
The top-seeded teams for the Dec. 5 World Cup tournament draw, including Germany but not Croatia, were set Wednesday when FIFA published new rankings the day after four continents completed qualifying.
Co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico will be joined in the pot of No. 1 seeds by top-ranked Spain, defending champions Argentina, France, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Croatia, semifinalists in 2022 and beaten finalists by France in 2018, were edged down into Pot 2 for the draw ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend.
The updated FIFA rankings also decided seeding for the draw Thursday for playoff brackets in March that will decide the final six entries in the expanded 48-nation lineup.
The 22 playoff teams include 16 in Europe playing for four World Cup places and six from the other regions chasing two spots in the intercontinental brackets.
Italy are the headliner in the European brackets as the four-time world champions aim to avoid a humiliating third straight exit in the playoffs.
The 12th-ranked Italians were pushed into the playoffs after finishing as runners-up in a qualifying group won by Norway. Erling Haaland's Norwegian team shapes up as a dangerous option from Pot 3 in two weeks' time.
Italy will be drawn Thursday at home against a fourth-seeded team. That could again be North Macedonia, who shockingly eliminated the Italians in 2022.
The winner on March 26 advances to a playoff final five days later against the team that emerges from the No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed pairing in its knockout bracket. Home advantage in the single-game playoff finals will be decided by the draw Thursday and not FIFA ranking.
The teams that eventually emerge from the four separate European playoff brackets are expected to be placeholders from low-ranked Pot 4 in the Dec. 5 draw.
The intercontinental brackets will see top-seeded Iraq and Congo each await the winner of playoff semifinals that involve Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname.
European playoffs seedings
Pot 1: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine.
Pot 2: Poland, Wales, Czechia, Slovakia.
Pot 3: Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo.
Pot 4: Northern Ireland, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia.
Intercontinental playoffs
Seeded: DR Congo, Iraq.
Unseeded: Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Suriname.
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Btw did muck around on the official FIFA World Cup website and yet they will announce the Final Draw pots later on the regular FIFA website. Still trying to figure out how to put the Euros in Pots 2 and 3 without kicking Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pot 4 - presumably they need to check in with their accountants on all this....
-QG
-QG
bagger
Footballguy
How many teams is Ireland going to put in this thing?
El Floppo
Footballguy
Kathy Ireland takes on the winners
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Someone online brilliantly pointed out that it is mathematically possible if they do put the euro playoff teams in Pots 2 and 3 that Argentina or Brazil could end up in a group with 3 playoff winners - for example:
Argentina/Italy playoff winners/Ukraine playoff winners/DR Congo Playoff Winners.
Another bang up job by FIFA if this happens.
(again they haven't confirmed the pot for the playoff teams)
-QG
Argentina/Italy playoff winners/Ukraine playoff winners/DR Congo Playoff Winners.
Another bang up job by FIFA if this happens.
(again they haven't confirmed the pot for the playoff teams)
-QG
heckmanm
Footballguy
even at 62 (both of us)
Tick
Footballguy
Do we really not know what they're doing with the playoff teams? I thought they were all going into pot 4, but now I'm searching around and it's not clear.
FIFA is so corrupt, this is hilarious.
titusbramble
Footballguy
I do kind of think that if we know the worst team in any given playoff path (will update the opening posts soon, honest) would be guaranteed pot 3 the path as a whole should be pot 3
Tick
Footballguy
Just make the draw after we know the teams, then rank them by FIFA rating. Seems pretty straightforward, I don't see any advantage to playoff teams going into pot 4 - Italy and Denmark are going to hose two groups if they do that.
If they want the draw before that (appears it's in a couple of weeks) then just complete the playoffs next week. Everything here seems easy, but they're FIFA.
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Playoffs are in March. Way too late for preparations for the 48 teams to settle on camps and the like. Classic FIFA double-back incoming. I legit believe they would have settled on dumping them into pots 2 and 3 already except for Qatar and Saudi Arabia being two of the countries that get Pot 4 as a result.
They will decide by the 5th though I believe - again because of the fact that teams have to know their group games will be in order to put their training camps in logical locations.
-QG
Dr_Zaius
Footballguy
I don’t like 48 either, but I’d be more okay with it if they gave the top 8 a bye and let 9-24 play in the first knockout round. Agree third place teams moving on is dumb, but at least it’s better than the original 3 team group proposal.
titusbramble
Footballguy
I can understand what you're saying, but a huge percentage of the field is qualified already. Doing the draw asap to allow most teams to know their group locations and set up base camp is enormous from a logistical standpoint. Wait until late March with less than three months lead time and I guarantee it would be the cluster to end all clusters
Tick
Footballguy
This was all preventable. Hold the playoff now, finalize the field and draw. Have a schedule and rules in place that makes sense.
Sand
Footballguy
This is FIFA we're talking about.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
The US last hosted in 1994:
The WC field that cycle was 24 teams total.
Of the 24 teams that qualified for 1994, the following teams have missed qualifying for WC2026 in a 48 team field.
Russia*, Cameroon, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Greece
The following teams from WC1994 have not yet qualified but are still alive in playoff scenarios
Bolivia, Sweden, Italy, and Ireland
*Not actually involved in any qualifying games as they were banned from WC2026
The WC field that cycle was 24 teams total.
Of the 24 teams that qualified for 1994, the following teams have missed qualifying for WC2026 in a 48 team field.
Russia*, Cameroon, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Greece
The following teams from WC1994 have not yet qualified but are still alive in playoff scenarios
Bolivia, Sweden, Italy, and Ireland
*Not actually involved in any qualifying games as they were banned from WC2026
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Any thoughts on what's going to happen with ticket prices once the draw is announced? Looks like in both NJ and Philly the lowest current prices (as of when I looked a few days ago) are in the mid to high $400s. Once the draw is set, how bad will a game have to be to cost less than that?
El Floppo
Footballguy
Stoichkov was a beast
Sand
Footballguy
Both Northern Ireland and Ireland are in the playoff, so still alive.
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QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Everything is so vague with seats right now - like what actual seat you get. I think it is gonna be bad for NJ in most instances - every diaspora is here and general interest is higher than it was in '94.
Of course not every NJ game sold out in '94 - I went to Saudi Arabia/Morocco which was about 3/4 full. I suppose something like Qatar vs New Zealand might have the best price point I could imagine.
-QG
I'm actually more wondering...if I buy at $450 or $500 now, what percentage of the possible match-ups am I going to regret it later because I could buy cheaper. So the theoretical Qatar-New Zealand matchup is what I'm afraid of.
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Impossible to know so far because they haven't specified which games are in which stadiums other than the US, Canada and Mexico games
-QG
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
FWIW, Dale Johnson with the BBC is reporting that it's confirmed that all playoff teams are going in Pot 4. I don't think Italy is very good right now (and I'm not at all convinced they'll get past Wales), but it does seem that there could be some pretty big variances in the groups based on those fourth pot teams.
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Actually scratch that. The tell is in the groups where a stadium is going to host more than one match in the group. The pot 1 teams will get put in those games to reflect their status
So with NJ that is Group I. Whoever is the Pot 1 team in Group I is going to get two games at the Meadowlands. Presuming they win the group they would get a 3rd game there in the Round of 32.
-QG
So with NJ that is Group I. Whoever is the Pot 1 team in Group I is going to get two games at the Meadowlands. Presuming they win the group they would get a 3rd game there in the Round of 32.
-QG
TennesseeJed
Footballguy
FIFA doing FIFA things - Ronaldo's 3-game ban for violent conduct has been reduced to 1 game (already served) and 2 games on super secret probation for a year. Thus he does not miss the 1st 2 games of the WC.
www.theguardian.com
I wonder how much @The Gator had to pony up for the bribe.
Cristiano Ronaldo clear to start World Cup after Fifa suspends two games of his ban
Cristiano Ronaldo will serve the final two games of his ban only if he is guilty of a similar infringement in the next year
I wonder how much @The Gator had to pony up for the bribe.
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
They are assigning stadiums on the 6th - after the draw. While I think Pot 1 teams will get a consideration in terms of playing multiple times in the same place as above there might be cases where they want the other locations - be it based on where they plan to train or where their diaspora is located.
-QG
-QG
The Gator
Footballguy
FIFA doing FIFA things - Ronaldo's 3-game ban for violent conduct has been reduced to 1 game (already served) and 2 games on super secret probation for a year. Thus he does not miss the 1st 2 games of the WC.
Cristiano Ronaldo clear to start World Cup after Fifa suspends two games of his ban
Cristiano Ronaldo will serve the final two games of his ban only if he is guilty of a similar infringement in the next year
I wonder how much @The Gator had to pony up for the bribe.
I sold the beach house and one kid.
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
The full draw procedure document linky:
-QG
-QG
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
In the not unrealistic scenario of Mexico and Canada both finishing 2nd in their group they would meet in the round of 32 in Inglewood.
Another wrinkle. If the USA wins it's group and Canada comes in 3rd in their group then they definitely meet in the round of 32 in Santa Clara
-QG
Another wrinkle. If the USA wins it's group and Canada comes in 3rd in their group then they definitely meet in the round of 32 in Santa Clara
-QG
titusbramble
Footballguy
Not sure how you can be sure about that second one
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
QuizGuy66
Footballguy
Actually I looked again so out of 330 possibilities for Group B runner up, 329 put them with 1D and ONE puts them with 1E.
Based on the Wikipedia chart but I bet that is accurate. Basically this lets FIFA but 3B into 2 spots on the chart but barring one exact group of 3rd place teams they will definitely go to Inglewood if they are one of the best 3rd place teams.
-QG
Based on the Wikipedia chart but I bet that is accurate. Basically this lets FIFA but 3B into 2 spots on the chart but barring one exact group of 3rd place teams they will definitely go to Inglewood if they are one of the best 3rd place teams.
-QG
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