The world’s biggest soccer tournament kicks off on June 11, and you can test your knowledge of the exciting game with Yahoo’s new 2026 Soccer Pick ‘Em with FOX One!
Make your choices during the FIFA 2026 World Cup™, earn points and climb the leaderboard for correct answers. You can play solo and compete on the field, create private groups with friends to compete for bragging rights, or join public groups to play with other fans.
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Whether you’re a soccer fanatic, a casual fan, or someone who’s never seen a game, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the FIFA World Cup. If you’re one of the latter and want some excitement, our football pick ’em 101 has you covered.
Before we get into how to play, some background information. A total of 48 teams participated in this World Cup, making it the largest World Cup in history. Teams are divided into 12 groups of 4 teams each. After the group round robin, the top two teams in each group advance to the top 32, and the eight best third-place teams also advance. This expansion means the total number of games will reach 104, 40 more than the last World Cup.
So you can choose with your head (trusting favorite bettors), your heart (relying on your ancestors), or go for random mode by choosing based on your favorite flag or the country you want to visit. Most importantly, this should make your journey to the FIFA World Cup a lot more fun. We’ll also provide plenty of pre-tournament content to help you make more informed choices.
basic knowledge
Before you play…
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Make sure you are logged in to the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo Fantasy app or sports.technology shout.com.
How do I make a choice?
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In the Yahoo Sports or Yahoo Fantasy app, click game at the bottom.
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On the game screen, find 2026 Football Picks with FOX One.
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Make a choice for every question in the game. you can save You can make your selections at any time and edit them until each question is locked.
[Play 2026 Soccer Pick ‘Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world’s biggest soccer tournament]
How many rounds are there?
There are five rounds in total.
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Top 32 (June 28 to July 3)
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Quarterfinals (July 9-11)
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Semi-finals + Finals (July 14-19)
When can I make my selections for each round?
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All questions from the group stage will be available on May 13th.
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All questions for the round of 32 will be available on June 18. Question selection will be updated as group stage play continues.
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All questions for the Round of 16 will be available on July 1. Question selection will be updated as the Round of 32 continues.
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All questions for the quarterfinals will be available on July 6th. Question selection will be updated as the round of 16 continues.
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All questions for the semi-finals + finals will be available on July 12th.
How does scoring work?
As the game progresses, points for each correct answer become more valuable.
group stage
13 questions in total
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12 group champions selected
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Select a player who you expect to score the most goals in the group stage
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5 points for each correct group winner
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Earn 2 points if your choice comes second in the group
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3 points for every goal scored in the group stage of your choice
Top 32
16 questions in total
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Choose which team will win each of the 32 games
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5 points for each correct answer
Top 16
8 questions in total
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Choose which team will win each match of the Round of 16
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10 points for each correct answer
quarterfinals
4 questions in total
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Choose which team will win each quarterfinal game
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20 points for each correct answer
semi-finals and finals
4 questions in total
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Choose which team will win each of the two semi-final games
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Choose which team will win the third place match
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Choose which team will win the finals
score
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40 points are awarded for each correct semi-final selection
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40 points are awarded for correctly selecting the third place game winner
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80 points are awarded for correctly selecting the winner of the final
When is the issue locked?
In each round, the question will be locked when the first match affecting that question begins.
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group stage
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“Who will win in Group A?” and “Who will score the most goals?” The two sides will be locked in when the first game of the tournament starts on June 11.
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As more groups begin competing in the coming days, more questions will be locked in.
Round of 32, Round of 16 and Quarterfinals
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Each question will be locked at the start of the game.
semi-finals and finals
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The questions “Who will win the third place game?” and “Who will win the Grand Final?” will be locked at the same time as the first semi-final, meaning you have to choose who will win these games before you know which two teams will advance from the semi-finals.
