Structure & Changes for 2026 FIFA World Cup

As this is the first 48-team World Cup, there are numerous changes that have been made to the tournament structure. Here is a quick overview of the structure for the World Cup:

• Qualification for the World Cup: Since there are more qualified teams, the qualification process has taken longer. There are still 6 spots to be filled, which will be determined from games being played between March 26-31. See below for the brackets for the remaining qualifiers. To view the times and TV channels for these games, click the World Cup Schedule tab above.
  
  
• Group Stage (June 11-27): : The World Cup starts with a group stage, which was determined by a draw held in Washington, D.C. on December 5. There are twelve groups containing four teams each. Each group plays round-robin, meaning there are three games per team. Teams earn 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. For teams tied on points after they’ve played three games each, tiebreakers will be used to separate the teams, with head-to-head being the first tiebreaker. Click here to view the tiebreakers in full.
• Knockout Rounds: Following the group stage, teams will advance to a knockout round based on their performance in the group stage. The first round is the Round of 32, followed by the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Final. To view the bracket for the knockout round which includes a version that will be updated as the World Cup unfolds, click the Printable Bracket option in the menu at the top of this page.
• Round of 32 (June 28-July 3): As there are 12 groups, this is the first World Cup that will have a Round of 32. The 32 teams that make up this round will include the winner and runner-up from each group as well as the eight-best 3rd place teams.
  • To calculate the best 3rd place teams, at the conclusion of the group stage on June 27, the twelve teams that finished 3rd in their group will be ranked using the following criteria from their group stage performance:
    • Points
    • Goal difference
    • Goals scored
    • Team conduct score (disciplinary record)
    • FIFA Rankings
  • After the twelve teams are ranked and the top eight teams are determined, they will advance to the Round of 32. As there are 495 possible combinations of the eight 3rd place teams advancing, you can click here to view the different combinations and how they’d match up with their Round of 32 opponent.
• Round of 16 onwards (July 4-19): The winners of the Round of 32 advance to the Round of 16 (July 4-7). The teams victorious in the Round of 16 advance to the Quarterfinals (July 9-11). Quarterfinal winners will play in the Semifinals (July 14-15) with the losers advancing to a Third Place Match on July 18. The semifinal winners will play each other in the World Cup Final on July 19.

There will be a number of CSA and club-hosted World Cup watch parties held at various facilities across Colorado. Please check back later for a map of all locations!