The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 18 to July 17, 2026. The tournament will feature 48 teams divided into eight groups of six, with each group playing one round-robin match against the other five teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage, where they will play in a single-elimination format until the final is determined.

To determine which teams make it through to the knockout stage, a bracket known as the lineup bracket is used. Here's how it works:

1. Each team is assigned a seed based on their current world ranking. Teams ranked 1-25 receive a 1 seed, teams ranked 26-50 receive a 2 seed, and so on.

2. Teams are then placed into four brackets based on their seed. The top seed in each bracket plays the bottom seed, the second seed plays the third seed, and so on.

3. In each bracket, the winners move on to the next round, while the losers are eliminated. This continues until there are only two teams remaining, who meet in the final.

Overall, the lineup bracket is a complex system that requires careful consideration of each team's strength and ability to compete at the highest level. However, by using this system, fans can get a sense of which teams have the best chance of advancing to the knockout stage and ultimately winning the tournament.