WC26
How it works

Scoring overview

Two parts to draft, two phases of scoring. Your 8 team picks score the group stage only. Your 11 players (and captain) score the whole tournament. When knockouts start, a separate bracket pickem opens up.

  • GROUP STAGETeams score pot-weighted W/D. Players score per event, captain at 2×.
  • KNOCKOUTSGroup-stage teams are done — they don't carry over. A fresh 31-pick bracket opens (240 max). Players keep scoring per event. You can swap up to 5 of them, and the captain can move.
Phase 1 · Group stage

Your 8 teams + 11 players + captain score every matchday

From the first kickoff through the final group match, your teams and your players both score. Teams pick up points based on results — this is the only phase where they score directly. Players pick up points based on what they do on the pitch, and continue scoring the same way through the knockouts.

Teams · per match

PotWinDrawLoss
Pot 1310
Pot 2420
Pot 3530
Pot 4640

Earned by each of your two picks in each pot, every group match. Pot 4 teams pay the most per win — picking underdogs that go on a run is the move.

Players · per event

ActionGKDEFMIDFOR
Goal7654
Assist2222
Clean sheet5300
Yellow card-1-1-1-1
Red card-3-3-3-3

Goalkeepers and defenders are rewarded more for goals and clean sheets; cards apply the same penalty across positions. Roster cap: max 4 players from any single country. A clean sheet only counts for a player if they start the match, reach the 60th minute, and the team concedes nothing at full time (shootout goals don't count). Player scoring continues the same way in the knockouts.

Captain · 2×

2× on every event the captain earns.

Pick one of your eleven as captain. Goals, assists, clean sheets, yellow, and red cards are all doubled — pick someone you trust to score, not just to take the field. You can move the captain when subs open.

Phase 2 · Knockouts

The bracket takes over. Roster subs available.

When groups end, your group-stage team picks are done — they don't carry into the knockouts. Instead, every manager fills out a fresh 31-pick bracket. You also get a short window before R32 kicks off to swap up to 5 players if you want.

Bracket · per correct pick

RoundPer pickPicksRound max
R3231648
R166848
QF12448
SF24248
Final48148

31 picks total, 240 max. Each round contributes the same 48-point ceiling. Picks cascade — change an upstream winner and any downstream pick that relied on the eliminated team clears out. The FINAL slot doubles as your champion bet; the manager who calls it correctly takes the bracket side prize.

Subs window · refresh your XI

Up to 5 voluntary swaps · forced replacements free · captain reassignable.

Optional. If your XI took hits from group eliminations, players on dead teams mustbe replaced — those swaps are free and uncapped. On top of that, you get 5 voluntary swaps measured as net diff from your starting XI (so swapping a player out and then back in is a wash and doesn't count). Replacement pool: any player on a team that made R32, same constraints as the original draft (max 4 per country, position-matched). Captain can be moved to any of the post-sub eleven.

Prizes

One overall champion. One side prize for best bracket.

Two races in one pool. Even if you fall behind in groups, the bracket is a clean reset — every manager fills out the same 31 picks regardless of group standing.

Overall

Highest combined total of group points + knockout points (player events + captain + bracket). The big prize.

Side prize · best bracket

Highest bracket points alone (max 240). Ties broken by whoever called the eventual champion in their FINAL slot; if both did (or neither), the prize is split.