FIFA World Cup 2026 draft simulator.
June 11 – July 19, 2026. 48 nations, 12 groups, 16 host cities across USA, Canada and Mexico. Replace any qualified country with an XI you draft from history — then simulate every match.
The 2026 format, simulated end-to-end
For the first time the World Cup expands to 48 teams. They're split into twelve groups of four. The top two from each group, plus the eight best third-placed sides, progress to a brand-new Round of 32. From there it's a standard knockout — Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place play-off and the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026. Every match is simulated in the app with the same scoreline applied across the group table, knockout bracket and your squad stats — no inconsistencies between screens.
Replace a nation. Draft a squad. Play the bracket.
Pick which of the 48 qualified countries your historical XI takes the place of. If you replace a host (USA, Canada or Mexico) your team plays at home in the host city; otherwise you're on the road. Every fixture in your bracket — group stages through the final — runs against the real opposition that nation faces in the real 2026 draw.
Host cities & venues
Sixteen stadiums host matches across three countries:
- • Atlanta — Mercedes-Benz
- • Boston — Gillette
- • Dallas — AT&T
- • Guadalajara — Akron
- • Houston — NRG
- • Kansas City — Arrowhead
- • Los Angeles — SoFi
- • Mexico City — Azteca
- • Miami — Hard Rock
- • Monterrey — BBVA
- • New York / NJ — MetLife
- • Philadelphia — Lincoln Fin.
- • San Francisco — Levi's
- • Seattle — Lumen
- • Toronto — BMO Field
- • Vancouver — BC Place
The 12 groups (real 2026 draw)
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia. Group B: Canada, Senegal, Belgium, Iran. Group C: Spain, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Australia. Group D: Argentina, Tunisia, Switzerland, Cameroon. Group E: France, Morocco, Uruguay, USA. Group F: Brazil, Poland, Japan, Wales. Group G: Germany, Egypt, Norway, Serbia. Group H: Netherlands, Colombia, Denmark, Côte d'Ivoire. Group I: Portugal, Nigeria, New Zealand, Costa Rica. Group J: Italy, Mexico-route play-off, Türkiye, Ghana. Group K: Croatia, Sweden, Paraguay, Qatar. Group L: England, Austria, Algeria, Panama.
Why people play World Cup 2026 draft games
The expanded 48-team field is genuinely new — nobody has muscle memory for a Round of 32 yet. Draft simulators let fans test scenarios: what would happen if my country ran into Argentina in the last 16? Could a chaos pick — Genghis Khan up top, Einstein in midfield, Joan of Arc at the back — actually grind through to a final? Every run produces a unique bracket you can share or compete on the global leaderboard.
Start your run
Pick a mode, draft your XI from over 1,200 historical figures, choose a manager and tactical style, then play the full 2026 tournament. Daily Challenge gives everyone the same seed so you can compare scores against the rest of the world.
See also: World Cup Draft Game — 2026 format, History Football Draft Game, Best Historical Football XI.