#tournament-format

#tournament-format

The World Cup draw on Friday will separate 48 teams (and placeholders) into 12 groups of four teams each. Each team will play three games in the group stage, one against every team in its group. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage, as in previous years. But the expansion of the tournament from 32 teams will create an additional round of knockout matches.

It really did happen, you know. Scotland are going to the 2026 World Cup. Maybe it will all feel real when Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart begin co-hosting duties at Friday's draw? Hmm, probably not. What about when the Village People take their turn to perform on stage? Or Robbie Williams? Or Andrea Bocelli? Or Nicole Scherzinger? Guess we will have to wait for some famous former footballer to awkwardly crack open a small plastic ball to reveal 'Scotland' on an unfolded piece of paper for it all to sink in.

Over two days, Iowa State defeated St. John's, the reigning Big East champion, on Monday and then dominated Creighton by 18 points a day later, despite playing without star Tamin Lipsey. Yet, the Cyclones were matched Wednesday against Syracuse, which had lost both of its games in Las Vegas, because Iowa State's overall margin of victory (plus-19) wasn't sufficient enough to earn a spot in the championship or third-place games.

Bitter rivals India and Pakistan will face off in Group A at next year's 20-team competition. Archrivals India and Pakistan will clash in a politically-charged Twenty20 World Cup match in Colombo on February 15, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said as it announced the draw on Tuesday. The 20-team tournament will be played across eight venues five in India and three in Sri Lanka between February 7 and March 8, the ICC said in a statement.

This new format will see each qualifier placed into one of four pots, which will be based on their FIFA ranking. Teams will then be drawn one at a time, cycling between pots one to four, with a computer placing them into a random group, which takes into account any geographical restrictions, for example, that no countries from the same confederation can be in the same group, except UEFA, which can have two teams in a group.

Moving the 2028 Women's Final Four to Lucas Oil Stadium will allow for more access for our fans, and it represents the continued growth of the sport,

"Look at the field we have," said Stacey Allaster, who's in her final year as U.S. Open tournament director. "It is going to be fantastic for the fans."

The SPFL's Challenge Cup will see a 50% increase in prize money to £1.25m, enhancing the competitive nature of Scotland's third cup competition.