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How it works

The Group Stage · World Cup 2026

🔒 Point values are hidden until you're logged in— and may still be tweaked before kick-off. Sign in to see exactly what everything's worth.

You don't pick a team — the machine deals you one. From there it's three ways to rack up points: how your drawn squad does, how sharp your pre-tournament calls are, and how much you throw yourself into it. Highest total when the dust settles wins.

Sweepstakes

The machine deals you a squad. Whatever they do on the pitch, you score.

Predictions

Call it before kickoff — winners, scorers, shocks. Right calls bank points.

Show up

Wear the shirt, watch with the group, eat and drink like your nations.

Two separate lanes. Your assigned squad doing things and your forecasts coming true never cancel out — the same moment can pay twice. (Your team reaches the final andyou called them to win? That's two lots of points.)

Your squad

When predictions lock, you spin once to reveal four picks — drawn at random from the pools:

A heavyweightOne of the 24 top-ranked nations.
An underdogOne of the 24 long shots.
An attackerA star forward to bang them in.
A keeperA No.1 to keep them out.

🎰 Sweepstakes points

Your teams

Whatever your two nations do out on the pitch, you score. Your underdog pays more — long shots are where the glory is.

Group-stage winYour nation wins a group game.
Group-stage drawYour nation shares the spoils.
Into the knockouts (and beyond)Points grow each round reached — Last 32 → Last 16 → Quarter → Semi → Final.
Uno reverseWhen your underdog loses, you bank 2 points per goal of the defeat.
Park the busYour underdog keeps a clean sheet against a top-24 side.
David > GoliathYour underdog (T2) beats a top-24 side.
Punching above your weightEither of your teams beats a higher-ranked side — bank the gap in their rankings.
Self-sabotageA player on one of your nations scores an own goal.
Wooden spoonOne of your nations finishes with the tournament's worst goal difference.

Your players

Your attacker and keeper score wherever they're playing. Goals and saves count in regular and extra time only — penalty shootouts don't count.

Attacker — open-play goalFrom the run of play.
Attacker — free-kick goalStraight from a set-piece.
Keeper — saveEach save made in normal play.
Keeper — penalty saveDenied from the spot during the match (not shootouts).

🔮 Prediction points

The honours

Call the big winners before a ball is kicked.

The chocolatesPick the tournament winner.
No cigarPick the runner-up.
Golden bootPick the top scorer.
Golden ballPick the player of the tournament.
Golden glovePick the best goalkeeper.
Young playerPick the best under-21.

The wildcards

Biggest blunderName the player who'll have the worst moment of the tournament.
Thug lifeName the most-booked player.
Gang lifeName the most-booked team.
Jet laggardsPick a top-10 side to crash out in the group stage.
Over / underOver or under 274.5 total goals across the tournament. All goals in regular and extra time count, including penalties — but not penalty shootouts.
Home heroWhich host — 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 🇨🇦 — goes the furthest.
Giant slayerCall an underdog to beat a heavyweight in the groups.
Pitch invadersGuess the number of streakers. Closest wins.
Soft spotSecretly nominate your real favourite (any of the 48). How it scores is strictly classified — you'll find out at the final whistle. 🤫

👕 Social points

Showing up

It's not all Mbappé and minnows. Turning up and getting behind it scores too — your commissioner has the final say on these.

SocialistAttending a prearranged live event.
PublicistWatching a group-stage game at the pub (photo proof).
AtmospheristWatching a knockout game at the pub.
WingmanWatching a game at the pub with one other person.
SoloistWatching a game on your own.
Suited upWatching wearing your team jersey.
Hand-me-downsWatching at home in team colours (judged by commissioner).
Cups of the worldDrinking a beer from a T2 nation while watching (once per game).
GeosnackerEating food from a T2 nation while watching (once per game).
Panini pointsBring a packet of Panini stickers to an in-person event.
Plus ad-hoc challengesOn-the-day dares set by your commissioner — guess the anthem, name the bench, whatever they dream up.

How points land

Match results and your teams' progress score automatically from the live World Cup feed. Player stats, social points and on-the-day challenges are awarded by your league commissioner. Predictions are graded once the real answer is known. Everything lands on the leaderboard as one running total — check back often, the table moves fast.

🎲 High Roller — the optional side game

A betting layer for those who want to dive deeper — entirely separate from the main game, with its own bank, pot and leaderboard. Totally optional. Here's how it works before you decide to buy in:

Getting in

An optional side game for the football-brained — layered on top of the main competition, with its own £10 buy-in and its own pot, completely separate from the main game. Opt in any time before predictions lock.

Your bankOpt in and you're handed 100 points to play with. Stake them on matches however you like. Run dry and you're out — unless you rebuy.
Place a betOn any upcoming match, back the result (home, draw or away) or call the exact score. One bet per match, and you can change or cancel it right up until kick-off. Get it wrong and you lose the stake.

What you win

Payouts follow the betting market: a result bet pays your stake × the team's decimal odds, so backing a favourite returns a little and a big underdog returns a lot — then multiplied by how deep the match is and your boost.

Correct resultBack the right outcome — your payout is the live market odds (short for favourites, big for underdogs).
Exact scoreNail the precise scoreline — far harder, so far bigger. Pays the live correct-score odds, never less than ×15 and capped at ×40, so a bold call lands a fortune.
Bigger rounds, bigger returnsStakes are multiplied by the stage: group ×1, last 32 ×1.25, last 16 ×1.5, quarters ×2, semis ×3, the final ×4.
⚡ BoostsYou get three boosts to start — each doubles the points on a single bet. Rebuys top you up, but fewer each time: 2 on your first rebuy, 1 on your second, none after.

The winner pick & going bust

Tournament winnerSeparate to the main game's “chocolates”, pick who'll lift the trophy. It pays the most on day one — up to 200 — and decays to a coin-flip 30 by the final. Lock it any time before the final kicks off; it only pays if you're right.
RebuyBust? Poker-style, your commissioner can stand you back up to 100 points for another buy-in into the pot.
Taking it allWhoever has the most points when the final whistle blows wins the High Roller pot — glory and cash.