The most popular Excel World Cup Predictor Game Spreadsheet is back! Now, you can use it for the upcoming World Cup 2026 football tournament where FIFA has expanded number of participants to 48 teams. With major changes in tie-breaker criteria, you will find how this predictor game spreadsheet will help you managing your game easily. No need to think about how those new regulations will give you headache on ranking teams in group standings. Excel formulas work in backgrounds will automate all process.
But, there is a trade-off for this number of teams expansion and complicated tie-breaker regulation. Spreadsheets that can be used in Google Spreadsheet and number of players that can join this game will be reduced. In previous 2022 World Cup tournament, you can choose a template that can accommodate up to 1000 players. In this 2026 World Cup tournament, the maximum model you can choose can accommodate up to 500 players only.
For you who just know it and use it for the first time, 2026 World Cup Predictor Game is a predictor game template you can use to play prediction game with your friends, relatives and colleagues. There are plenty of options you can choose to suit your own game regulation. You can use it as a score prediction game (just predict actual match scores) or as a set and forget prediction game (predict from the start until the final match where Knock Out teams will be based on players prediction). Players get points for their correct predictions based on certain criteria.
To make competitive game until the final and to compensate losing scores because of incorrect team pairing matches in set and forget game, you can utilize up to 15 bonus points criteria to help your players get more points. Players can get those bonus points if their prediction met specific criteria. Filling player’s prediction scores is very simple. The organizer can copy and paste scores into particular player table in master spreadsheet where points will be shown automatically every time actual result scores are filled. They are all in one single worksheet.
Game Setup Tab
This is the tab to pick and set your game by your own criteria. Also, you can select which criteria that you will accommodate in your game including its point values.
Participant Setup Tab
In this World Cup 2026 Predictor Game you can put player’s names in player’s setup table and add starting point, entry fee and other information you need about your participants.
Game Board Tab
This is the main tab of World Cup 2026 Predictor Game. You fill player’s prediction as well as actual results here. Points are also calculated in this tab. If you are using the paid version, you can copy prediction scores from separate player’s prediction sheet. If you are using the free version, you can type it inside score fields directly, or copy and paste from World Cup 2026 schedule template.
Scoreboard and Prediction Summary Tab
This is the board where you can see prediction summary from all of your players. You can see it in point summary and score prediction summary. You can also see top 3 predicted scores of each matches on top of score prediction summary table.
Leaderboard Tab
Players are ranked here. They will be ranked by tie-breaker regulation as follows :
- Total points (match + bonus points)
- Total correct prediction
- Higher total match points
- Entry order in player scoreboard table
Notable Changes (World Cup 2022 to 2026):
- Number of teams: 32 to 48 teams
- Number of groups: 8 to 12 groups
- Tie-breaker criteria: Group Matches oriented to Head-to-Head oriented
- First Knock Out round: Round of 16 to Round of 32
- Qualified teams to Knock Out rounds: 16 teams (Top 2 teams from each group) to 32 teams (Top 2 teams from each group + 8 Best 3rd-place teams)
- Number of matches: 64 to 104 matches
Here is the free version of FIFA World Cup 2026 Predictor Game Template. You can use for 10 players only. Also, features are limited. You may need the premium version to accommodate more players and use all available features.
This post will be updated after the spreadsheet is finished and all World Cup 2026 teams are revealed in March 2026.
