Key points
- FIFA’s new knockout pathway keeps Spain, Argentina, France, and England separated until the semifinals.
- The revamped 48-team format ensures top seeds avoid early heavyweight matchups regardless of group results.
- Forty-two teams are already confirmed, with the 12-group draw set for 5 December in Washington, D.C
ZURICH: Spain and Argentina, the world’s top two-ranked sides, will be kept apart until the FIFA World Cup final, provided both teams top their groups, the sport’s global governing body announced on Tuesday.
The same protection applies to France and England, ranked third and fourth, as FIFA unveiled a new knockout-stage pathway designed to ensure competitive balance in the expanded 48-team format.
Under the revamped system, the top four seeded nations will be placed in separate halves of the tournament bracket. FIFA said the rule change establishes “two separate pathways to the semifinals,” preventing early heavyweight clashes and maintaining high-stakes drama for the later rounds.
Previously, knockout matchups were determined solely by a team’s group-stage position. Now, even if the top seeds fail to win their groups, they still cannot meet one another before the semifinals.
A total of 42 teams have already qualified for the event, including Iran and Haiti, who FIFA confirmed will play in their designated venues. The 2026 World Cup will be staged across 16 venues for 104 matches, featuring 11 NFL stadiums in the United States, three venues in Mexico, and two in Canada.
The final six qualifying spots will be filled in March through European and intercontinental playoffs, a process that could see four-time champions Italy emerge as a dangerous late entrant. The tournament draw, scheduled for next Friday, will divide teams into 12 groups of four, with Europe contributing 16 sides and no more than two from the same nation allowed in each group. Continental clash restrictions will apply to the remaining confederations as well.
The three co-hosts, the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will be among the 12 top seeds. FIFA expects the draw ceremony, set for 5 December at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., to last around 45 minutes as part of a broadcast programme of roughly 90 minutes.
