Why can't England play a top seed at the World Cup until the semi-finals?

The draw for the group stages of next summer's FIFA World Cup  will take place today, when each of the 42 nations that have qualified so far will learn who and where they'll be playing at the 2026 tournament. 

The pots for the draw have now been confirmed by FIFA , with each nation's ranking having a bearing on what pot they have been placed in.  

There are still six spots up for grabs in Pot 4, with four of the berths allocated to UEFA teams through next year's play-offs and the remaining two places coming from the inter-confederation play-offs.

However, upon announcing the pot line-up, FIFA also confirmed a new seeding placement for the top four-ranked teams for the first time, which has given England a huge boost ahead of the draw. 

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Why can't England play a top seed until the semi-final?

In a similar vein to how the draw for Wimbledon is made and the structure for the league phase of the Champions League, for the first time the four top seeds will be kept apart in the World Cup draw. 

Spain - ranked number one - and Argentina - ranked two - will be paired in opposite halves of the draw, with France - ranked three - and England - ranked four - also paired. 

It means that as long as each team tops their group, England would not face Spain or Argentina until the semi-final and France until the final. 

This ensures that top-ranked countries do not meet earlier in the knockout rounds and the meetings are 'saved' until the end of the tournament. 

How do the pots work for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? How many pots are there and how many teams in each pot?

The final pot placings have been confirmed by FIFA, as it is determined by the current FIFA Rankings. 

Each pot will consist of twelve teams and be drawn into twelve groups of four.  With one team from each continent making up each group, which the exception of Europe, where there could be two in each group. 

The top four seeded teams - Argentina, Spain, France and England will be 'paired' and placed into groups in opposite halves of the draw, meaning they cannot play each other until the semi-finals. 

The six play-off winners will be in Pot 4, as it will be unclear who will progress until they take place in March. 

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FIFA World Cup 2026 draw pots

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When is the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

The tournament kicks off June 11, 2026 with Mexico taking on an as-yet-unknown opponent at the famed Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Nearly six weeks later, the last of the 104 games will be played at MetLife Stadium just outside of New York City on July 19, 2026 .

FIFA

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