🏆

Welcome to the FIFA World Cup '26 Pool

Predict the scores, climb the leaderboard, and win the pot. Here's everything you need to know before you start.

1 Two phases, two competitions

The pool runs in two separate phases. Each phase is its own contest — its own pot, its own winners. You can play one or both.

Phase 1 · Group Stage
Classification
📅 Jun 11 → Jun 27, 2026
Predict the exact score of all 72 group-stage matches.
Phase 2 · Knockout
Brackets
📅 Jun 28 → Jul 19, 2026
Predict the knockout bracket — who advances all the way to the final.

We close the competition at the end of each phase and crown that phase's winners before the next one begins.

2 How to make your predictions

Go to the ⚽ My Bets tab and pick a group. You have two ways to fill it in:

✍️
Match by match — type your predicted score into the two boxes for each game (e.g. 2 × 1).
🤖
Auto-Predict by FIFA Ranking — one tap fills every empty match with a sensible score based on the FIFA world ranking. Each player gets their own set, so no two brackets are identical. Review, tweak whatever you want, then save. It never overwrites scores you've already typed.
💾
Save each group with the “Save all predictions in this group” button at the bottom of the list. Your progress bar at the top tracks how many of the 72 you've saved.

Tip: the FIFA world-ranking position is shown under each team's flag to help you judge the matchup.

3 Deadlines & locking

You can submit and edit your predictions until 24 hours before each phase begins. After that, the phase locks and no further changes are accepted.

Phase 1 locks
≈ Jun 10 (24h before kickoff)
Phase 2 locks
≈ Jun 27 (24h before knockouts)

Once a match's official result is entered, that individual prediction is locked automatically.

4 Buy-in & prizes

Entry is $20 USD per person, per phase. Everyone's $20 goes into that phase's pot, and the top three on that phase's leaderboard split it:

🥇
60%
1st place
🥈
30%
2nd place
🥉
10%
3rd place
💵 How to pay: Send your $20 to Ariel Vargas via Zelle at (949) 337-7527. The organizer marks you as paid once it's received.

Example: 10 players in a phase → $200 pot → $120 / $60 / $20 to 1st / 2nd / 3rd. Each phase is paid out separately.

5 How points are scored

Every match prediction earns points based on how close you were:

15🎯Exact score — right winner and both teams' goals
7Right winner + one team's goals correct
4👍Right winner only (wrong scores)
3One team's goals correct, but wrong winner
0Missed it

Point values are set by the organizer and may be adjusted before a phase starts. Highest total on the leaderboard wins the phase.

📢 What's New

Latest updates and improvements to the pool app.

📊 Your Prediction Progress
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📋

Phase 1 — Classification

Submit your predictions for all 72 group stage matches

Phase 1 — Classification
Predict the exact score of each match
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📅 Match Calendar
Group stage fixtures · times shown in your local zone ()
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📊 Official Results
Actual match scores as entered by the organizer
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🏆 Leaderboard
Overall pool standings
Participants
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Matches Played
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Leader
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Prize Pool
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1st
🥈
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2nd
🥉
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3rd
# Player Perfect Scores Partial Hits Points
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🔮 Advancement Forecast
Who advances to the knockouts — based on everyone's picks
🏁 Live Race
Watch the top 10 shuffle as the live scores land
🏆 Knockout Bracket — World Cup 2026
Predict each match score round by round. Slots open as teams are confirmed. # = FIFA world ranking.
🏆

Phase 2 — Knockout

A brand-new contest that picks up where the group stage ends. Predict every knockout score, all the way to the Champion.

1 A separate contest

Phase 2 has its own $20 buy-in and its own leaderboard — it starts from zero, fully independent of Phase 1. Anyone can join, whether or not they played the group stage. There are 32 matches in all: Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, the 3rd-place match and the Final.

💵 Send your $20 buy-in to Ariel Vargas via Zelle at (949) 337-7527. You can fill in your bracket before paying — your picks still count — but you must be paid to win the pot.
2 When to bet

Open the 🗺️ Bracket tab. Each match opens once both teams are confirmed and closes a few hours before kickoff (every card shows the exact deadline).

🔒
To be defined — the match is locked until both teams are known (shows a lock and the slot, e.g. "Win 74" or "3rd CDFGH").
✍️
Open — type your score in both boxes and hit 💾 Save predictions. You can change a pick as many times as you like until the deadline.
🔒
Closes before kickoff — after the deadline the pick locks and can't be changed.
3 How points work

Each prediction earns points based on how close you got:

15
Exact score
8
Winner + one team's goals
5
Right winner only
3
One team's goals (wrong winner)
+2 goal-difference bonus if you nail the margin (e.g. you said 2–1 and it ended 3–2).
4 Later rounds are worth more

Base points are multiplied each round, so the deep rounds decide the title:

Round of 32 — ×1.0
Round of 16 — ×1.5
Quarterfinals — ×2.5
Semifinals — ×4
Final & 3rd place — ×6  (an exact score in the Final = 90 pts!)
5 Extra time & penalties

Goals are scored by normal time (90 min). If a match is tied at full time, your goal/score points are judged on that 90-minute score. But the winner for scoring is whoever advances — including on penalties — so a correct "who goes through" still earns you the winner points.

📅 Knockout Calendar
Knockout fixtures · times shown in your local zone ()
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🏆 Phase 2 Leaderboard
Knockout standings — separate contest from Phase 1
Players
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Matches Played
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Leader
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Prize Pool
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🥇
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1st
🥈
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2nd
🥉
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3rd
#PlayerExact ScoresPartial HitsPoints
🏁 Phase 2 Live Race
Knockout standings as scores land — refresh to update
🛠️ Knockout Admin (Phase 2)
Scores sync automatically from ESPN. You only set who advanced on ties, and can reopen betting.
🎯 Phase 2 scoring
Base points per pick, plus a goal-difference bonus, then multiplied by the round. Editing here recalculates every knockout score instantly.
Round multipliers
🔒 Betting lock
Each knockout match opens once both teams are confirmed and closes automatically before kickoff.
Close betting hours before kickoff
🔄 Sync results from ESPN
Pulls the latest official scores (groups + knockout) into the pool. Knockout brackets advance automatically from these results.
⚽ Penalty shootouts — who advanced?
When a knockout match is tied at full time, ESPN gives the score but the bracket needs to know who went through on penalties. Set it here for any tied match that's missing it.
📋 Enter Results
Enter the official score for completed matches
Betting Phase Control
The active phase is what players see on "My Bets". Open or close each phase's betting independently.
Active Phase (shown to players)
Phase 1 — Classification betting
Phase 2 — Brackets betting
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👥 Members & Contributions
All members are listed. Pool stats and completion are based on Phase 2 (knockout): a player counts as "playing" once they place any bracket bet.
Players
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Collected
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Outstanding
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Prize Pool
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Completion
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🔗 Invite Links
Create a shareable link that lets people self-register for the pool
Active Invite Link

One link works for everyone — share it however you like (email, WhatsApp, etc.). Anyone with the link can create their own account. Rotate it anytime to invalidate the old one.

How it works: Registration is invite-only. Without a valid link, new sign-ups are blocked (you, the admin, can always register). Rotating the link disables the previous one.
🛠 Admin Invite Link (single-use)

Use this to give another person admin access to manage the pool. It's a separate, one-time link: the moment someone registers with it, it stops working. Generate a new one for each admin you add.

Note: the new admin still uses a company email and confirms it via the verification link. Admins manage the portal only — they don't place bets and don't appear on the leaderboard.
⚙️ Scoring Configuration
Points per Prediction
🎯 Exact Score
Correct winner + both team goals
✅ Winner + 1 Score
Correct winner + goals of one team
🏆 Winner Only
Correct winner, wrong scores
⚽ One Score Only
One team's goals correct, wrong winner
❌ Miss
No correct predictions
Legend

🎯 Perfect Exact score

✅ Great Winner + 1 score

🏆 Winner Correct winner only

⚽ Partial One score only

❌ Miss No match

Example:
Real result: Brazil 3 x 1 Portugal
Prediction: Brazil 3 x 1 Portugal → 15 pts
Prediction: Brazil 2 x 0 Portugal → 4 pts
Prediction: Brazil 3 x 0 Portugal → 7 pts
Prediction: Argentina 2 x 1 Brazil → 0 pts