I built a World Cup 2026 bracket predictor for the new 48-team format
The 2026 FIFA World Cup format is surprisingly complicated.
Instead of the old 32-team structure, the tournament now has:
- 48 teams
- 12 groups
- a new Round of 32
- third-place qualification rules
I realized that most existing bracket tools were still based on the old format and felt awkward once you tried modeling the new tournament structure.
So I built this:
The idea was simple:
- predict all group-stage standings
- automatically generate the Round of 32
- continue predicting all knockout rounds
- share or export the completed bracket
One interesting challenge was handling the knockout path generation.
With 12 groups and third-place advancement, the Round of 32 is no longer fixed in a straightforward way. The bracket depends on which third-place teams qualify, so the UI and logic both become more dynamic compared to previous World Cups.
I also tried to keep the experience lightweight:
- no signup
- mobile friendly
- fast interactions
- easy sharing
It was a fun side project to build, especially because sports tournament structures are basically a weird mix of UI design, state management, and combinatorics.
Would love feedback from other developers or football fans — especially around the UX and whether the new format feels understandable.