World Cup mode
World Cup Draft Game: Seven Matches From Immortality
The World Cup is the cruellest format in football. A club side can lose a dozen times and still win the league; a national team gets seven matches, and one bad afternoon in the knockouts sends everyone home. Winning all of them — the way Brazil did in 2002 — is the rarest achievement in the sport.
World Cup mode puts you in that pressure cooker. Draft a Tournament XI from some of the most celebrated national squads ever assembled, then play the whole thing out: group stage, knockouts, final. There is no settling for second place here — the run either ends with the trophy or it just ends.
Play World Cup modeHow it works
Spin the wheel to land on one of eight nations, each locked to an iconic tournament squad: Brazil 2002, France 2018, Argentina 2022, Germany 2014, Italy 2006, Spain 2010, England 1966 and the Netherlands 1974. You draft eleven players exactly as in club mode — one spin per slot, a hand of four candidates each time, two re-rolls in reserve — and chemistry rewards picks who shared a nation or a tournament.
The tournament itself is seven matches: three group games, then the Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final. Every match is decided outright — there are no draws in this mode. You can survive one defeat in the group stage, but a second group loss ends your tournament, and in the knockout rounds any defeat is instantly fatal. Your final tier is the round you actually reached, from WORLD CHAMPIONS and FINALIST down through Semi-Final, Quarter-Final and Round of 16 to Eliminated — the simulation never awards a trophy your run did not earn.
11
Draft picks
7
Games to the trophy
2
Re-rolls per run
Result tiers
- WORLD CHAMPIONSEverything below
- FINALISTEverything below
- SEMI-FINALEverything below
- QUARTER-FINALEverything below
- ROUND OF 16Everything below
- ELIMINATEDEverything below
The real-world benchmark
Two Brazil sides define perfection at a World Cup. The 1970 team of Pelé, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto won all six of their matches in Mexico and are still routinely called the greatest international side ever. In 2002, when the expanded tournament format demanded seven matches, Brazil won them all — Ronaldo finished as the tournament’s top scorer and the Seleção lifted their record fifth title.
Most champions are not perfect, which is what makes those runs special. Spain famously lost their opening match at the 2010 World Cup and still went on to lift the trophy. Winning all seven, the Brazil 2002 way, remains the gold standard — and it is the only way to top the ladder in this mode.
Legendary squads you can draft
Frequently asked
Has any country won every match at a World Cup?
Yes. Brazil won all six of their games at the 1970 World Cup, and won all seven at the 2002 World Cup — the tournament that gave Brazil a record fifth title. Those perfect runs are the benchmark this mode is built around.
Why does my World Cup run end after one loss?
Because that is knockout football. In this mode you can absorb one defeat in the three group games, but a second group loss eliminates you, and from the Round of 16 onwards any defeat ends the run immediately. Your tier reflects the round you actually reached.
Which nations can I draft from?
The wheel carries eight legendary tournament squads: Brazil 2002, France 2018, Argentina 2022, Germany 2014, Italy 2006, Spain 2010, England 1966 and the Netherlands 1974. Each spin locks one nation in, and you draft your next player from that squad.
Can matches end in a draw in World Cup mode?
No. Unlike the 38-game Premier League mode, every match in the World Cup simulation produces a winner and a loser, so a seven-match run is either perfect or it is over.