How it works
Scoring
Predict all 104 matches. Points come from two places: how accurately you call the group games, and how far you correctly send teams through the knockouts. You can edit everything until the first kickoff on 11 June.
Part 1
Group stage — every game
For each of the 72 group matches you predict a scoreline. You score the best tier that applies:
| 3 | Exact score |
| 2 | Correct goal difference on a decisive game (right winner and right margin) |
| 1 | Correct result only — right winner wrong margin, or you called the draw |
| 0 | Wrong result |
Example — you predict France 2–1
| It actually finishes… | Tier | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2–1 — spot on | exact score | 3 |
| 3–2 — right winner & margin | goal difference | 2 |
| 1–0 — right winner, wrong margin | result only | 1 |
| 0–2 — wrong result | — | 0 |
One quirk: a wrong-score draw (you said 1–1, it finished 2–2) scores the result tier (1), not the goal-difference tier — every draw has a goal difference of zero, so there's no extra skill in "calling the margin" of a draw.
Part 2
Knockouts — how far your picks go
You don't predict knockout scorelines. Your bracket is built from your own predicted group tables — fill all 72 group games and it appears, then tap winners through to the final. You then earn points for every team you correctly send to each round, and it stacks up:
| 3 | Per team that reaches the Round of 16 |
| 6 | Per team that reaches the Quarter-final |
| 12 | Per team that reaches the Semi-final |
| 20 | Per team that reaches the Final |
| 35 | Per team that reaches the Champion |
Example — you back Brazil to win it all
- They reach the quarter-final, then go out → 3 + 6 = 9 for Brazil.
- They go all the way and lift it → 3 + 6 + 12 + 20 + 35 = 76 from that one pick.
It scores the set of teams you got to each stage, so you're rewarded even if their exact path differs from what you predicted — what matters is that you backed them to go far.
The maths
Where the points are
The knockout pool (≈219) is deliberately set close to the group-stage max (216) — but group exact-scores are rarely all hit, so in practice the knockouts swing the table. A strong bracket, especially nailing the deep runs and the champion, can overhaul a middling group-stage score in the final week. Reading who goes far is where the title is won.