World Cup draw 2026: Format, start time, seeding, pots & dates

FIFA’s big idea is to optimize the chances of blockbuster draws in the final stages of the World Cup.

Thus, for the first time, it gives special ranking status to Spain, Argentina, France and England, which are among the top four in the world rankings.

More importantly, this status will only be valid if countries win their groups.

Let’s take a look at how this could work, using the UK as an example.

Each of the four countries will be drawn into a group of different colored quadrants in parentheses, as shown in the image below.

Spain (ranked 1st) and Argentina (2nd) must be placed in the opposite halves and cannot meet until the final, as do France (3rd) and England (4th).

France and England will not be able to face either Spain or Argentina until the semi-finals.

Let’s say France goes first and gets into Group C, placing them in the green quadrant on the right side of the draw. This means England can only get into the left-hand blue or turquoise quadrants, groups E, F, G, H or I.

If Argentina falls into the blue quadrant, this will restrict England to only the turquoise G or H groups.

Are four seeds given an easy ride? Not necessarily.

There is a potential last 16 tie between the two group winners in each quarter. For example, in the blue quadrant there is a meeting of the winners of Group E and Group I. This means a top-seeded team could face another pot on one side, say Brazil.

Participating in groups C, F, H or J seems potentially more advantageous as it is not possible to face another group winner until the quarter-finals.

If one of the four teams in the ranking finishes the group as second, it loses its ranking privilege.

So if England finish second in Group H, they will switch from turquoise to red; perhaps the winner of Group J will face Spain, Argentina or France in the first qualifying round.