Bracket guide

World Cup 2026 Bracket Predictor Guide

The knockout screen starts once the bracket has 32 teams: twelve group winners, twelve runners-up, and eight selected third-place teams. From there, every match is a single-click decision.

Automatic slots

Group winners and runners-up are placed from the current group rankings. If you move a team inside a group, its bracket slot updates automatically and downstream knockout picks are cleared so the path stays coherent.

Manual winners

Each knockout match lets you choose the winner directly. The winner appears in the next round immediately, which keeps the bracket fast enough for mobile use and easy sharing.

Sandbox map notice

The MVP uses a sandbox bracket map while the product focuses on interaction flow. The map is kept in core data so it can be swapped for a final tournament-specific map without rewriting the UI.