World Cup Bracket 2026 Printable PDF for Fixtures, Picks to Share with Friends

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin on Thursday, and this iteration of the tournament will be bigger than ever. The field has been expanded to 48 teams, meaning the group stage will feature 12 groups.

With so many teams involved, it's hard to predict how things might unfold. What we know for certain is that 32 teams will advance from group play to the knockout round.

The top two teams from each group, along with the top eight third-place teams, will qualify for the round of 32, which is slated to begin on June 28.

Those looking to track all of the action can find a printable PDF bracket with all group fixtures at BBC.com.

World Cup Favorites

Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images

Spain +450 (bet $100 to win $450)

France +500

England +700

Portugal +800

Brazil +850

Argentina +1000

Germany +1300

Netherlands +1600

Belgium +2200

Norway +3300

Colombia +3500

Japan +4500

*Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook

Tournament Overview and Group Picks

Thursday will bring one of the World Cup opening ceremonies, along with the tournament's opening match between Mexico and South Africa. Canada and the United States will hold their opening ceremonies and first matches on Friday. From there, group play will be fully underway.

While the avenues to the knockout stage are a bit different than they've been in past tournaments—the knockout stage begins with a round of 32 instead of a round of 16—fans will find the group stage very familiar.

As in past tournaments, each team will play the other three members of its group, once apiece, with point totals determining the group rankings. Three points will be awarded for a match win, one point will be given for a draw, and no points will be awarded for a match loss.

Tiebreakers such as goal differential and goals scored will be used to further separate the fields, if needed. The knockout stage will begin on Sunday, June 28 and will run through the final match slated for Sunday, July 19.

All knockout stages are single-elimination, and there will be no draws. Games still tied after 90 minutes will feature 30 minutes of extra time, followed by penalty kicks, if necessary.

The top two teams in each group will automatically qualify for the knockout stage, while eight of the third-place teams will also earn berths. The 32 teams will then meet in a set of predetermined matches based on groups and finishing position—the full schedule can be found at FIFA.com—and for the first time ever, FIFA has introduced early seeding to start the tournament.

Top-seeded Spain will be on the opposite side of the bracket from second-seeded Argentina, meaning they can only meet in the final. Similarly, fourth-seed England and third-seed France are on opposite sides from one another.

As Eduardo Tansley of The Athletic noted, top seeds were determined by the FIFA world rankings at the time of December's draw and are dependent on each team winning its respective group.

Which 12 teams will advance to the knockout stage as group winners? Here are our early picks:

Group A: Mexico

Group B: Canada

Group C: Brazil

Group D: United States

Group E: Germany

Group F: Netherlands

Group G: Belgium

Group H: Spain

Group I: France

Group J: Argentina

Group K: Portugal

Group L: England