GENEVA: The 2026 World Cup draw next week will reward the four highest-ranked teams — Spain, Argentina, France and England — who will be placed in separate sections of a new tennis-style seeded tournament bracket. FIFA said Tuesday the top four teams in the latest men’s rankings will, if they finish top of their respective round-robin groups, avoid each other until the semifinals of the June 11-July 19 tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The top four seeded countries will not be able to meet each other until the semi-finals of next year's World Cup for the first time in the tournament's history.

The world’s top four teams will not be able to meet until the World Cup semi-finals if they win their groups under a new seeding system

GENEVA: The 2026 World Cup draw next week will reward the four highest-ranked teams — Spain, Argentina, France and England — who will be placed in separate sections of a new…