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:

https://bracket2026.com

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.