About Track the Cup

Track the Cup is an independent, fan-built tracker for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the first 48-team World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. It pulls together the things you actually want during a tournament and keeps them current: the group standings, the knockout bracket, and the full schedule in your own time zone.

This site isn’t affiliated with FIFA or any team, broadcaster or governing body.

Where the data comes from

Results, match, and venue data come from the football-data.org API and the public-domain openfootball dataset.

How the group stage standings work

Every group shows live standings, updated as matches play out. While a match is in progress, the table assumes the current score holds to full time, so a group with a live game can reorder several times as goals go in.

Live scores can lag the real match by a few minutes. If you’re watching a game, treat the standings as close rather than exact while it’s on — they’ll settle once the final result comes through.

How the projected bracket works

Until real knockout fixtures exist, we fill the Round of 32 from the live group tables. It ranks each group (points, then goal difference, then goals scored), folds in any matches in progress, works out the eight best third-placed teams, and drops each qualifier into its official bracket slot. Anything projected is labelled as such, and it recalculates after every result.

How AI is used here

I built this site with AI, because that was the only way it was ever going to get built. I made it for myself first, but a few friends started using it and found it genuinely useful, so it is now out there for anyone who wants it.

The blog posts are written with AI too. I read every one and edit when needed. I’m not a fan of AI writing in general, but with enough effort I’ve got it to a point where it turns out short, informative, and amusing posts about the previous days events. It’s a useful way to get caught up with World Cup news.

Without AI, none of this would exist. I have a full-time job, a part-time degree, a family, and a life outside all of that. I don’t have the hours to write World Cup articles by hand, so the AI does the writing and I do the reading. Everything in the blog is fact-checked with multiple sources, with links provided, but the usual caveat still applies: AI can make mistakes.