The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in Washington DC next week, but there has already been some good news for some of the tournaments big guns after a change to the seeding system at the event was confirmed on Tuesday.

42 nations have already booked their spots in next summer’s finals in North America, with six more spots up for grabs in the play-offs next March. Ireland will be hoping to be in that final group of teams, with fixtures against Czechia and potentially Denmark/North Macedonia to come in the spring.

All of the involved teams, as well as those taking part in the play-offs, will learn their potential path to a World Cup final when the draw takes place on December 5th.

However, one change set to be made to the tournament format will be a big boost to England and some of the sport’s other top ranked nations.

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England Set For Easier World Cup Draw After FIFA Make Late Change

FIFA announced today that the top four seeds for next summer’s FIFA World Cup will be kept apart until the semi-final stages of the tournament. The current rankings, which were updated last week, will be the ones used for the seedings.

That means that Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), and England (4) cannot meet each other until the semi-finals stage. If all four teams advance that far, Spain would face England, while Argentina would face France. The rule would only apply if all four nations were to win their respective groups.

It is the type of draw that was used in the Champions League knockout rounds last season, as well as being seen regularly in other sports such darts and tennis.

The move will be a boost to those nations, who will now be ensured of a fairly pedestrian route through the knockout rounds should they manage to top their groups. Of course, they could meet other top teams such as Brazil, Portugal, or Germany earlier in the competition.

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