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⚔ WarEra World Cup 2026
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180 Nations · 32 Standard Groups + 2 Wildcard Groups · June 11 – July 19, 2026
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PhaseDatesDetails
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Group StageJun 11 – Jun 28
30 groups of 5 + 2 wildcard groups of 15 · 520 total matches
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Round of 64Jun 29 – Jul 164 teams · 32 matches
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Round of 32Jul 2 – Jul 432 teams · 16 matches
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Round of 16Jul 5 – Jul 716 teams · 8 matches
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Quarter-FinalsJul 8 – Jul 108 teams · 4 matches
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Semi-FinalsJul 12 – Jul 134 teams · 2 matches
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3rd Place Play-offJul 19Bronze medal match
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FinalJul 19Champion crowned 🏆
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Scoring Mechanic
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Each match is decided by Daily Damage — the total damage a nation deals in a 24-hour window (18:00–17:59 SAST = 16:00–15:59 UTC). Higher damage wins. In the group stage, equal damage is a draw. In knockout rounds, higher damage always wins — no draws.
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Group Stage Structure
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STANDARD GROUPS (A through D2 — 30 groups):
Seeds 1–150 are drawn into 30 groups of 5 teams, using 5 seeding pots of 30 teams each. Every team plays every other team in their group once (10 matches per group). The TOP 2 teams from each standard group advance to the Round of 64 (60 teams).

WILDCARD GROUPS (W1 and W2 — 2 groups):
Seeds 151–180 (the 30 lowest-ranked nations) are split into two groups of 15. This gives the smaller nations a fair chance to compete amongst themselves. Each wildcard group plays a full round-robin (105 matches per group across all 18 match days). The TOP 2 teams from each wildcard group also advance to the Round of 64 (4 teams).

TOTAL: 60 + 4 = 64 teams in the Round of 64 ✅

Standings ranked by: Points (W=3, D=1, L=0) → Goal Difference → Goals For → Head-to-Head.
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Knockout Stage
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64 teams enter the Round of 64 on June 29. From here it is straight single-elimination knockout all the way to the Final on July 19.

Round of 64 (Jun 29) → Round of 32 (Jul 2) → Round of 16 (Jul 5)
Quarter-Finals (Jul 8) → Semi-Finals (Jul 12) → Final (Jul 19)

The two Semi-Final losers meet in a 3rd Place Play-off on July 19 before the Final.
All knockout matches use the same 18:00–17:59 SAST daily damage window.
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