Fifa announces changes to the 2026 World Cup knockout stage | OneFootball

FIFA announced an unprecedented change to the knockout stage for the 2026 World Cup this Tuesday. The highest-ranked teams in the organization’s ranking will not be able to face each other before the semifinals.

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Spain (first seed) and Argentina (second seed) will be drawn into opposite halves of the bracket. The same will happen with France and England, the third and fourth seeds, respectively. The Brazilian National Team is currently ranked fifth.

The change aims to ensure that matches between the best teams only take place in the final stages of the tournament.

This is a system already present in the new format of the Champions League and was tested by FIFA at the last Club World Cup, won by Chelsea. However, this rule will only be applied if the four teams mentioned win their groups in the first stage of the World Cup.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on December 5, at 2 p.m. (Brasília time).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.