Fifa to keep top seeds apart in World Cup for first time

The top four seeded countries will not be able to meet each other until the semi-finals of next year's World Cup for the first time in the tournament's history.

Fifa has announced that Spain (1st seed) and Argentina (2) will be 'paired' and placed into groups in opposite halves of the draw.

France (3) and England (4) will also be paired, which means England will not be able to come up against Spain or Argentina until the semi-finals, and France until the final.

This only applies if the four countries win their groups.

When two teams are paired, they are placed in opposite halves of the knockout bracket and cannot meet each other until the final. This happens at Wimbledon, and in the new Champions League format, where seeds are kept apart in pairs.

Fifa wants to ensure the top-ranked countries do not meet earlier in the knockout rounds, thus potentially creating blockbuster games later in the tournament. The same ranking system was used for the Club World Cup in the summer.

France knocked England out of the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals, while Spain beat the Three Lions in the Euro 2024 final.

The four pots for the final draw, which takes place on Friday, 5 December (17:00 GMT), have also been confirmed.

Scotland will be in pot three, with the six play-off paths - which includes Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Italy - all in pot four.

Debutants Uzbekistan are in pot three, with fellow first-timers Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao in pot four.