FIFA is about to make important changes in the 2026 World Cup, many teams will be affected

(Dan Tri) - FIFA is said to be considering an important change in the group draw rules at the 2026 World Cup. This could significantly affect many teams.

According to sources from Calcio e Finanza (Italy) and Football Meets Data, FIFA is considering applying a new seeding method. Accordingly, teams will be placed into 4 seeding pots based entirely on the FIFA rankings, instead of the traditional method, in which teams that pass the play-off round are usually placed in pot 4 by default, regardless of their ranking.

The Italian team could benefit if FIFA changes the way it calculates seeding groups (Photo: Getty).

This could affect many teams. Take Italy, for example. They are in danger of being in the play-off group in the European qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup. If the old method were used, the Azzurri (Italy's nickname) could be pushed down to pot 4.

However, in case the organizers determine the seeding groups based on the FIFA rankings, Italy will jump to seed group number 1. This helps the team in Blue avoid many big teams.

On the other hand, many strong teams like England (the only team in Europe with a ticket to the World Cup up to this point) will avoid meeting Italy in the group of death.

FIFA's consideration of changing the way seeding groups are calculated is seen as a move to protect "big guys" who are performing poorly in World Cup qualifiers like Italy.

England is the first team in Europe to qualify for the 2026 World Cup (Photo: Getty).

SportBible commented: "This change, if approved by FIFA, will not only help balance the quality between the groups, but also open up more favorable opportunities for teams with high rankings on the FIFA rankings in their journey to conquer the 2026 World Cup."

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest tournament in history, with 48 teams participating, up from 32 teams compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Up to this point, FIFA has determined 28 teams participating in the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico including:

Host (3 teams): USA, Mexico, Canada

Asia (8 teams): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar.

South America (6 teams): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Europe (1 team): England

Oceania (1 team): New Zealand

Africa (9 teams): Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/fifa-sap-co-thay-doi-quan-trong-o-world-cup-2026-nhieu-doi-tuyen-anh-huong-20251110131512723.htm