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Fifa announces major change to World Cup draw that could benefit England
Nov 25 2025 18:16 · By onefootball.com · 45 Reads
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The World Cup draw will introduce a Wimbledon-style seeding format at next summer’s tournament, which means England could avoid Spain , Argentina and France until the semi-finals if all those countries top their groups.
Fifa has announced a major change to the World Cup format ahead of next month’s draw, with the top two teams in the Fifa rankings placed on opposite sides of the draw, along with the third and fourth-ranked sides.
Those are Spain , Argentina , France and England .
England lost to France in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup (Getty Images)
It means they will be kept apart from each other in the 32-team knockout phase if they win their groups, and will not be able to meet until the semi-finals.
England have been placed in Pot 1 of the World Cup draw, with Scotland in Pot 3. Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales, who are all in the play-offs, would be in Pot 4 if they qualify.