FIFA Rimet Cup (unofficial restructure of the FIFA World Cup)

[NicCarBel]

Ok, everyone knows I love a football sim now. And I believe I did a draw based on this back on the 442 days.

Today, I wanted to try again, now that there is a mod for FC26 / FIFA 26 with all FIFA National Teams

Welcome to the FIFA Rimet Cup!


What is the Rimet Cup? Well.. it's a purely knockout tournament for all FIFA Member Nations!

This is a walk back through time, where from 1998 onwards, the FIFA Rimet Cup replaces the FIFA World Cup.

All matches will be published on YouTube, with a playlist for each Round, of each tournament.

Rimet Cup

For the 1998 World Cup, FIFA expanded to a 32 team tournament. In this fan-made universe, FIFA has instead replaced the FIFA World Cup with the FIFA Rimet Cup - a single elimination knockout tournament held every four years including all member nations of FIFA held over two legs, culminating in...

www.youtube.com

DRAWS:
*Note - All Draw / Results spreadsheets for 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2026 are available on the original post.
I have created an interactive knockout bracket from the Round of 128 onwards for the 1998 edition to replace the spreadsheet on the original post. The spreadsheet will remain available on the post announcing the draw for each edition when it takes place.

Draw procedure will be posted (to notify which nations will receive byes into subsequent rounds once possible). Also, where possible/needed, I have conducted the random draw for rounds in all tournaments going forward where there will be no byes/restrictions on the draw procedure (generally Round of 64 onwards if the game being used doesn't have custom tournaments that will do the draw for me.) However, there is still a possibility of re-drawing these when needed.

1998 FIFA Rimet Cup
172 nations entered
Draw Procedure:

1. Round 1 will consist of the nations ranked from 85-172 (game adjusted: This means using the December 1997 FIFA Rankings, but removing nations not in the game from the rankings).
2. The nation drawn first (with the exception of Seeded Nations for the Second Round - see Procedure Point 4) will host the second leg of the tie.
3. Nations from the same Confederation may not be drawn together in a First Round fixture.
4. Round 2 will consist of the nations ranked 1-84, plus the 44 winners from Round 1. Nations ranked 1-44 will be drawn against a Round 1 winner and designated as the host of the second leg, while the remaining nations ranked 45-84 will be drawn against eachother, following the same procedure as the draw for the First Round (with no Confederation restrictions).
5. Rounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will be an open draw, with the first nation drawn designated as the host of the second leg.
6. The complete fixture/bracket will be determined with a single draw.
7. All matches will be decided on aggregate. In the event of a draw after two legs, the winner will be decided by:
   1. The team with the most away goals in regular-time
   2. Golden Goal Extra Time
   3. Penalty Shootout
8. The FIFA Rimet Cup Final (Round 8) will be held at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France as a single leg, with Golden Goal Extra Time and Penalties if required.

Scorekeeping app

ScoreLeader, the All-in-One Scorekeeper.

scoreleader.com

2002 FIFA Rimet Cup
122 nations entered
Draw Procedure:

1. Round 1 will consist of the nations ranked from 7-122, using the results of the 1998 FIFA Rimet Cup. The four semi-finalists from the 1998 FIFA Rimet Cup, and the two highest ranked quarter finalists (using the January 2002 FIFA Rankings) will receive byes into the second round
2. The nation drawn first (with the exception of Seeded Nations for the Second Round - see Procedure Point 4) will host the second leg of the tie.
3. Nations from the same Confederation may not be drawn together in a First Round fixture.
4. Round 2 will consist of the 6 nations that received a bye, plus the 58 winners from Round 1. The 6 nations that have received a bye to Round 2 will be drawn against a Round 1 winner and designated as the host of the second leg. All remaining fixtures will be drawn as per Procedure Point 2 (with no Confederation restrictions).
5. Rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be an open draw, with the first nation drawn designated as the host of the second leg.
6. Rounds 1 and 2 will be drawn at the beginning of the tournament, with Round 3 onwards to be drawn at the completion of each round
7. All matches will be decided on aggregate. In the event of a draw after two legs, the winner will be decided by:
   1. The team with the most away goals in regular-time
   2. Golden Goal Extra Time
   3. Penalty Shootout
8. The FIFA Rimet Cup Final (Round 7) will be held at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan as a single leg, with Golden Goal Extra Time and Penalties if required.

2006 FIFA Rimet Cup
127 nations entered
Draw Procedure:

1. Round 1 will consist of the nations ranked from 2-127, using the results of the 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup. The winner of the 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup will receive a bye into Round 2
2. The nation drawn first (with the exception of Seeded Nations for the Second Round - see Procedure Point 4) will host the second leg of the tie.
3. Nations from the same Confederation may not be drawn together in a First Round fixture.
4. Round 2 will consist of the 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup champion, and the 63 winners from Round 1. The 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup winner will be drawn against a Round 1 winner and designated as the host of the second leg. All remaining fixtures will be drawn as per Procedure Point 2 (with no Confederation restrictions).
5. Rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be an open draw, with the first nation drawn designated as the host of the second leg.
6. All Rounds of the tournament will be drawn prior to Round 1
7. All matches will be decided on aggregate. In the event of a draw after two legs, the winner will be decided by:
   1. The team with the most away goals in regular-time
   2. Golden Goal Extra Time
   3. Penalty Shootout
8. The FIFA Rimet Cup Final (Round 7) will be held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany as a single leg, with Golden Goal Extra Time and Penalties if required.

2010 FIFA Rimet Cup
199 nations entered
Draw Procedure:

1. Round 1 will consist of the nations ranked from 58-199, using the results of the 2006 FIFA Rimet Cup. The 32 nations that reach Round 3 of the 2006 FIFA Rimet Cup, and the 25 highest ranked nations that exited at Round 2 (ranked using the December 2009 FIFA Rankings) will receive a bye into Round 2
2. The nation drawn first (with the exception of Seeded Nations for the Second Round - see Procedure Point 4) will host the second leg of the tie.
3. Nations from the same Confederation may not be drawn together in a First Round fixture.
4. Round 2 will consist of the 57 nations that received a bye into Round 2, and the 71 winners from Round 1. The 57 nations that received a bye into Round 2 will be drawn against a Round 1 winner and designated as the host of the second leg. All remaining fixtures will be drawn as per Procedure Point 2 (with no Confederation restrictions).
5. Rounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will be an open draw, with the first nation drawn designated as the host of the second leg.
6. All Rounds of the tournament will be drawn prior to Round 1
7. All matches will be decided on aggregate. In the event of a draw after two legs, the winner will be decided by:
   1. The team with the most away goals in regular-time
   2. Golden Goal Extra Time
   3. Penalty Shootout
8. The FIFA Rimet Cup Final (Round 8) will be held at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa as a single leg, with Golden Goal Extra Time and Penalties if required.

2014 FIFA Rimet Cup
203 nations entered
Draw Procedure:

1. Round 1 will consist of the nations ranked from 54-203, using the results of the 2010 FIFA Rimet Cup. The 32 nations that reach Round 4 of the 2010 FIFA Rimet Cup, and the 22 highest ranked nations that exited at Round 3 (ranked using the January 2014 FIFA Rankings) will receive a bye into Round 2
2. The nation drawn first (with the exception of Seeded Nations for the Second Round - see Procedure Point 4) will host the second leg of the tie.
3. Nations from the same Confederation may not be drawn together in a First Round fixture.
4. Round 2 will consist of the 53 nations that received a bye into Round 2, and the 75 winners from Round 1. The 57 nations that received a bye into Round 2 will be drawn against a Round 1 winner and designated as the host of the second leg. All remaining fixtures will be drawn as per Procedure Point 2 (with no Confederation restrictions).
5. Rounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will be an open draw, with the first nation drawn designated as the host of the second leg.
6. All Rounds of the tournament will be drawn prior to Round 1
7. All matches will be decided on aggregate. In the event of a draw after two legs, the winner will be decided by:
   1. The team with the most away goals in regular-time
   2. Extra Time
   3. Penalty Shootout
8. The FIFA Rimet Cup Final (Round 8) will be held at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a single leg, with Extra Time and Penalties if required.

2026 FIFA Rimet Cup
212 nations entered
Draw Procedure:

1. Round 1 will consist of the nations ranked from 45-212, using the results of the 2022 FIFA Rimet Cup. The 32 nations that reach Round 4 of the 2022 FIFA Rimet Cup, and the 13 highest ranked nations that exited at Round 3 (ranked using the January 2026 FIFA Rankings) will receive a bye into Round 2
2. The nation drawn first (with the exception of Seeded Nations for the Second Round - see Procedure Point 4) will host the second leg of the tie.
3. Nations from the same Confederation may not be drawn together in a First Round fixture.
4. Round 2 will consist of the 44 nations that received a bye into Round 2, and the 84 winners from Round 1. The 44 nations that received a bye into Round 2 will be drawn against a Round 1 winner and designated as the host of the second leg. All remaining fixtures will be drawn as per Procedure Point 2 (with no Confederation restrictions).
5. Rounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 will be an open draw, with the first nation drawn designated as the host of the second leg.
6. Rounds 1 and 2 will be drawn prior to the start of the tournament, with Rounds 3 and onwards drawn at the completion of each round
7. All matches will be decided on aggregate. In the event of a draw after two legs, the winner will be decided by:
   1. Extra Time (two halves of 15 minutes)
   2. Penalty Shootout
8. The FIFA Rimet Cup Final (Round 8) will be held at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, United States as a single leg, with Extra Time and Penalties if required.

 

[NicCarBel]

Ok - so turns out - as far as I'm aware, I cannot set where exactly in the bracket nations will go. Plus - the maximum I can set a knockout tournament is to 64 teams.

So, Rounds 1 and 2 will have to be played out as per the draw manually - and then with the 64 winners of Round 2, they will be placed into a tournament on the game, with the game making the draw randomly from there. I've left that original draw in there (just in case there is a way) but as for now - just Rounds 1 and 2 for 2026 are set.

Because I'm a nerd, I'm actually going to go RIIIIGHT back in time for this and, using the January draws of a World Cup year (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), set up a Rimet Cup using FIFA 98, FIFA 2002, World Cup 2006, World Cup 2010 and World Cup 2014 (draws will be added to the first post. I believe I will have to do a manual draw for the World Cup games (2006, 2010 and 2014) as there are no Custom Tournaments, however for 1998 and 2002 I should be able to have the game do the random draw from a certain point.

 

[NicCarBel]

Ok, so here's the ultimate nerd question.

If I'm doing these from 1998 - do I do the byes from 2002 onwards based off the FIFA Rankings, or I should take into account the results of the previous Rimet Cup, yeah?

Eg, 2006 - because of the amount of nations in the game - only needs one nation to have a bye to Round 2 - so it's either Brazil (Ranked #1, and actual 2002 FIFA World Cup Winners), or whoever wins the 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup.

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

Ok, so here's the ultimate nerd question.

If I'm doing these from 1998 - do I do the byes from 2002 onwards based off the FIFA Rankings, or I should take into account the results of the previous Rimet Cup, yeah?

Eg, 2006 - because of the amount of nations in the game - only needs one nation to have a bye to Round 2 - so it's either Brazil (Ranked #1, and actual 2002 FIFA World Cup Winners), or whoever wins the 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup.

I'd say take the winners of the previous edition into account when giving the byes so results of previous cycles matter, or alternatively you could base it on FIFA rankings if you want some historical accuracy with regards to relative strength of nations as part of the simulation process.

 

[NicCarBel]

I'd say take the winners of the previous edition into account when giving the byes so results of previous cycles matter, or alternatively you could base it on FIFA rankings if you want some historical accuracy with regards to relative strength of nations as part of the simulation process.

Grazie - this is what I’m thinking - essentially (depending on the edition) will mean the nations that make the round of 32 will get a bye the next time round, and then might use the rankings as the consideration after that from the losers of the last round before the bye, If that makes sense

 

[NicCarBel]

Ok, so that means the 2026 Draw I did is now null and obsolete (since I'll be starting from FIFA 98) - however I will keep it there as a reference so we can see how it would have worked.

I will now conduct the draw for the 1998 FIFA Rimet Cup, using the December 1997 FIFA Rankings. This tournament is open to nations on the FIFA 98 - Road to World Cup 98 game (172 nations).

EDIT: Draw Procedures for each tournament added to OP

 

[NicCarBel]

The 1998 FIFA Rimet Cup draw is now complete (copy below, but also on the opening post of the thread)



For us in Australia, we were ranked 35th on the opening draw, and thus will receive a bye into the Second Round, and have drawn the winner of Match 14 from Round 1 (Papua New Guinea and Kyrgyz Republic) as our opening fixture.

Should Australia emerge victorious, the Round 3 fixture will be against the winner of Czech Republic vs Tanzania / Suriname (Australia has been drawn to host the second fixture of the tie)

 

[NicCarBel]

I'd say take the winners of the previous edition into account when giving the byes so results of previous cycles matter, or alternatively you could base it on FIFA rankings if you want some historical accuracy with regards to relative strength of nations as part of the simulation process.

Ok so based off this advice, and the amount of teams that will be in the 2002 edition, First Round byes will be awarded to the four 1998 semi-finalists, and the two nations that are knocked out in the 1998 quarter finals that are ranked highest on the FIFA World Rankings from January 2002.

For 2006, the only bye will be for the winner of the 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup.

 

[NicCarBel]

The 1998 FIFA Rimet Cup draw is now complete (copy below, but also on the opening post of the thread)



For us in Australia, we were ranked 35th on the opening draw, and thus will receive a bye into the Second Round, and have drawn the winner of Match 14 from Round 1 (Papua New Guinea and Kyrgyz Republic) as our opening fixture.

Should Australia emerge victorious, the Round 3 fixture will be against the winner of Czech Republic vs Tanzania / Suriname (Australia has been drawn to host the second fixture of the tie)

Have arranged the entire bracket from the Second Round onwards at https://scoreleader.com/t/D3H77DR


Going solely off the FIFA Rankings - Australia royally screwed:
Australia are ranked #35 - assuming Australia can manage to reach the final, but otherwise the FIFA Rankings winning out, this is the Path to Paris for the Socceroos:
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Kyrgyzstan (140)
Round 3: Czech Republic (3)
Round 4: Peru (38)
Round 5: France (6)
Quarter Finals: Brazil (1)
Semi Finals: Mexico (5)
Final: Germany (2)

In contrast, Italy - ranked #9 - would have the following Path to Paris using the same method:
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Slovenia (95)
Round 3: Belgium (41)
Round 4: Netherlands (22)
Round 5: Zambia (21)
Quarter Finals: Germany (2)
Semi Finals: Romania (7)
Final: Brazil (1)

 

[NicCarBel]

Oof Wales with some work to do on the second leg!
Match of the round so far

 

[NicCarBel]

Second leg of Round 1 has begun, airing all tonight and tomorrow morning

www.youtube.com/@RimetCup

 

[NicCarBel]

With the first round now complete - we have 101 individual goalscorers across the opening 88 games!
All players with multiple goals listed below. Those bolded are still in the competition.

• Kodro - 3 goals - Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Darcourt - 3 goals - Cuba
• Hillary - 3 goals - Nepal
• Rush - 3 goals - Wales
• Prodanuk - 2 goals - Bahamas
• Tun - 2 goals - Belize
• Mbuyi - 2 goals - Burundi
• Tangaroa - 2 goals - Cook Islands
• Aquino - 2 goals - Dominican Republic
• Jakup Jarnskor - 2 goals - Faroe Islands
• Bojang - 2 goals - Gambia
• Abozama - 2 goals - Jordan
• Daye - 2 goals - Liberia
• Bicker - 2 goals - Liechtenstein
• Paulo - 2 goals - Macau
• Atkinson - 2 goals - New Zealand
• Acedo - 2 goals - Puerto Rico
• Moli - 2 goals - Solomon Islands
• Perera - 2 goals - Sri Lanka
• Agabayer - 2 goals - Turkmenistan
• Savarese - 2 goals - Venezuela
• Ha - 2 goals - Vietnam