Fifa has announced a significant change to the World Cup draw format, introducing a Wimbledon-style seeding system for the knockout stages. The move, confirmed ahead of the December 5 draw, will see the top four teams in the Fifa rankings placed on opposite sides of the bracket, ensuring they cannot meet until the semi-finals if they all top their groups.
The four highest-ranked nations are Spain, Argentina, France and England. Under the new system, World Cup holders Argentina would be kept apart from European champions Spain until the final, while France and England—who met in the 2022 quarter-finals—would also avoid each other until the last four. Fifa stated the change was made to “ensure competitive balance” for the first ever 48-team World Cup, which will feature an extended knockout stage.
England have been placed in Pot 1 for the draw, which takes place on Friday December 5 in Washington DC. Scotland are in Pot 3, while Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales—all in the play-offs—would be in Pot 4 if they qualify. Fifa also confirmed that the match schedule, including stadiums and kick-off times, will be announced on Saturday December 6.
The full pot allocations are as follows: Pot 1 includes Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Pot 2 features Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia. Pot 3 contains Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Pot 4 comprises Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the winners of three European play-offs and two Fifa play-off tournaments.
