FIFA announced the draw rules and brackets for the 2026 World Cup. The top four teams in the world will be divided into two halves if they advance to the knockout rounds.

FIFA stated: "In order to ensure the competitive balance of the event, two independent semi-final promotion paths have been set up in the schedule design. The top four teams in the FIFA world rankings need to abide by the following constraints: No. 1 Spain and No. 2 Argentina will be randomly divided into different halves. The same applies to No. 3 France and No. 4 England. This rule ensures that if the above-mentioned teams both win the group first, the top two teams will not meet before the finals."