World Cup Bracket Challenge – game guide and promotion rules

THINK you know international football? Prove it by predicting the outcome of the groups and knockout stages at this summer’s World Cup.

Here’s all the game info you need, plus the all-important terms and conditions. Good luck!

GAME RULES

SECTION 1.1 – DESCRIPTION

In our World Cup Bracket Challenge (the “Game”), Entrants are invited to forecast the outcome of the group stages and the knockout stages for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Tournament.

Points are awarded for correctly predicting the finishing positions in the group stages and the progression of each team in the knockout stages, to the extent that they correspond with your predetermined selections. The points system is set out below at section 3.1.1. 

The winner of the Bracket Leaderboard will win £1,000 in Amazon vouchers. In the event that two or more Entrants finish on equal points, the tie-breaker rules set out below at section 4.1.2 will apply.

These rules must be read alongside the Terms and Conditions Promotion Rules below. Together, they form the Game Rules and Terms & Conditions that you are agreeing to.  

To be eligible for the winning prize, you must meet the criteria set out in the Terms and Conditions Promotion Rules.

SECTION 2.1 – HOW TO PLAY AND RULES

2.1.1 Deadline

You will need to make all of your selections for the group stages and all of the knockout stages prior to the first match of FIFA World Cup 2026 (which is scheduled to kick off at 7:59pm UK Time on Thursday 11 June 2026) (the “Lockout Time”).

Once you submit your selections, you will not be able to modify your submission. 

2.1.2 How to play

For each of the twelve groups (A – L), simply pick the order in which the four teams in each group will finish (for example, England to finish 1st, Ghana 2nd, Croatia 3rd and Panama 4th in Group L). 

By making those selections for each of the twelve groups, it will automatically generate a list of the twelve teams which you have positioned in 3rd place in each group. 

You will then need to select eight of those twelve 3rd placed teams who you think will progress to the Round of 32.

All of your selections will then be placed into the bracket for the Round of 32 according to FIFA’s qualifying structure.

You will then make your onward selections of the winners of each of the Round of 32 fixtures, based on the outcome of your predictions from the group stages.

The same will then apply for the Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, Bronze Final and Final. For the Final, you will need to select the winner, again based on the outcome of your bracket selections.

SECTION 3.1 – POINTS

3.1.1 Point-scoring

You will score points for each correct prediction you make according to the scoring system below. For the Knockout Stages, points are awarded if a team you selected to reach a specific round successfully qualifies for that round in the real-world tournament, regardless of the bracket pathway they took to get there.

Group Stages:

(a) Correctly predicting the finishing position of a team = 5 points

(b) Correctly predicting all of the finishing positions of an entire group = 5 points

Maximum of 25 points per group

Knockout Stages:

(a) Correctly predicting a team qualifying for the Round of 16 = 4 points

(b) Correctly predicting a team qualifying for the Quarter-finals = 6 points

(c) Correctly predicting a team qualifying for the Semi-finals = 8 points

(d) Correctly predicting a team qualifying for the Bronze Final or World Cup Final = 10 points

(e) Correctly predicting the Bronze Final Winner = 12 points

(f) Correctly predicting the World Cup Winner = 20 points

*(Please note: No points are awarded for teams progressing into the Round of 32, as points for these selections are already accounted for in the Group Stages scoring).

SECTION 4.1 – LEADERBOARD

4.1.1 Leaderboard entry

If you submit your bracket prediction before the Lockout Time, you will be automatically entered into the leaderboard for all Entrants (the “Bracket Leaderboard”).

In cases where Entrants are on the same points, Entrants will be listed alphabetically. 

4.1.2 Tie-breakers

If there is a tie for first place, the winner will be determined by random selection between those tied at the top. 

SECTION 5.1 – PRIZE

The prize for the Game is as follows:

£1,000 (one thousand pounds) in Amazon vouchers which will be awarded to the winner.

There will be one Prize only. There are no runners-up prizes. 

SECTION 6.1 – GLOSSARY AND DEFINITIONS

“Bracket Leaderboard” means the overall leaderboard containing all Entrants who successfully submitted a bracket before the Lockout Time.

“Entrant” means any individual who participates in the Game.

“Game Terms & Conditions” means these Game Rules read in conjunction with the Promotion Terms and Conditions.

“Lockout Time” means the strict deadline for submitting bracket selections, being 7:59pm UK Time on Thursday 11 June 2026.

“Prize” means the prize available to be won in the Game, as set out at Section 5.1.

“Terms and Conditions Promotion Rules” means the overarching terms and conditions, which can be found below.

“Tournament” means the FIFA World Cup 2026.

PROMOTION RULES

1. By entering this promotion (the Promotion), you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (the Terms and Conditions).  Completion and submission of an entry form or e-mail will also be deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.  Promotional materials relating to the Promotion, including all information on how to enter the Promotion published in publications of the Promoter (including social media if applicable) or on the Promoter’s websites, also form part of these Terms and Conditions. In the event of any conflict between any terms referred to in such promotional materials and these Terms and Conditions, these Terms and Conditions take precedence.
2. The promoter of this Promotion is News Group Newspapers Ltd (publishers of The Sun and The Sun on Sunday) of 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF (the Promoter).

Eligibility

3. The Promotion is only open to residents of the United Kingdom only. 
4. You must be aged 18 years or older to enter the Promotion. 
5. The following individuals are not eligible to enter the Promotion:

1. employees and agents of the Promoter, News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (or any group companies of the Promoter or News Corp UK & Ireland Limited);
2. employees and agents of (i) any organisation directly connected with the operation or fulfilment of the Promotion (including third party promotional partners); and (ii) any associated, affiliated or subsidiary companies of such organisations or partners; and
3. the immediate families and household members of all such employees and agents referred to in (a) and (b).

6. By entering the Promotion, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and are eligible to claim the Prize you may win. The Promoter may require you to provide proof of your age, residency, and eligibility to enter the Promotion. If a Winner is found to be ineligible, the Promoter reserves the right to award the Prize to another participant and to require the return of the Prize (or any portion of the Prize) if already awarded. The Promoter’s decision as to whether an entrant is eligible for this promotion is final and the Promoter is not obliged to provide any reasons for disqualification.
7. You must comply with the laws that apply to you in the jurisdiction that you access the Promotion from. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from entering the Promotion, you must comply with those laws and, if applicable, refrain from entering the Promotion.

Timing

8. The Promotion starts at 00:01AM (UK time) on 22nd May 2026 and closes at 7.59PM (UK time) on 11th June 2026 (the Promotion Period). Any entries received outside the Promotion Period are automatically disqualified. 

How to Enter

9. To enter, you must visit thesun.co.uk and complete the official online entry form during the Promotion Period. The entry form will be available via a widget embedded within selected Sun Sports articles. A valid entry consists of the following steps, which must be completed in full during the Promotion Period:

1. Group Stage Predictions: For each of the twelve World Cup groups (Groups A through L), you must select the specific finishing order (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place) for all four teams.

2. Third-Place Progression: From the twelve teams you have placed in 3rd position during step a), you must select eight (8) teams that you predict will progress to the Round of 32 fixtures. No points are awarded for correctly predicting these.

3. Knockout Bracket Completion: You must complete the entire tournament bracket by selecting a winner for every match in the following stages: Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, Bronze Final, and the World Cup Final.

4. Submission: When you have completed steps a)-c) above, click the “Submit Picks” button to register your entry. When you have submitted your picks, you will be invited to complete the entry form. This includes choosing a ‘Leaderboard Name’, which will be visible on a public leaderboard to other participants. Your Leaderboard Name must not contain any content that is defamatory, libellous, racist, homophobic, derogatory, pornographic, obscene, sexist, illegal and/or otherwise inappropriate, and it must not infringe on the trademarks or rights of any third party.

10. Scoring Period: Points will be awarded based on match results occurring from the tournament opening match on 11 June 2026, through to the final on 19 July 2026:

Group stages: 

a) Correctly predicting the finishing position of a team = 5 points 

b) Correctly predicting all of the finishing positions of an entire group = 5 points. 

Maximum of 25 points per group.

Knockout stages: 

a) Correctly predicting a winner of a Round of 32 match (qualifying for the Round of 16) = 4 points

b) Correctly predicting a winner of a Round of 16 match (qualifying for the Quarter-finals) = 6 points

c) Correctly predicting a winner of a Quarter-final match (qualifying for the Semi-finals) = 8 points

d) Correctly predicting a team qualifying for the Bronze Final or World Cup Final = 10 points

e) Correctly predicting the Bronze Final Winner = 12 points

f) Correctly predicting the World Cup Winner = 20 points 

11. Participants may make a maximum of one entry per person during the Promotion Period, and entries cannot be amended once submitted. Participants may only win one prize per person, irrespective of the number of entries submitted. Bulk, automatically generated or third party entries are void. 

12. The Promoter reserves the right to remove or temporarily suspend any entries submitted from the Promotion if it reasonably suspects any breach of these Terms and Conditions or if it receives any complaint from any third party relating to such entry.

13. Any entries received other than via the official entry method will not be accepted. Use of script, macro or any automated system to enter the Promotion is prohibited. Entries made (or which appear to have been made) using any such system may be treated as void.  Any illegible, incomplete or fraudulent entries will be rejected. No purchase of any product or service is required to enter into this Promotion. 

14. Incomplete or illegible entries will be void.  

Winners and Prizes

15. There will be only 1 (one) winner of the Promotion (the Winner), who will receive the Prize (as defined below). There will be no prizes for any other participants. The Winner will be the participant with the highest verified points total.

Tie-Breaker: In the event that two or more participants are tied with the same number of verified points, the Winner will be selected at random from those valid tied participants. This random draw will be conducted by a computer process that produces verifiably random results and will be verified by an independent observer.

16. The Prize is a £1,000 (one thousand pounds) Amazon gift voucher only. Gift voucher is valid at http://www.amazon.co.uk only (the “Partner Website”).  Gift voucher subject to gift voucher terms and conditions, found at the Partner Website and/or on the gift voucher. Change not given when using gift voucher. No cash refunds under any circumstances, even if there is any amount left over at the end of the validity period. Gift voucher is non-transferable and cannot be sold to anyone else. If you purchase a product/service which costs more than the voucher value/remaining value left of the voucher then you will need to pay the balance.  

17. The Prize is subject to the terms and conditions of Amazon which can be found here and their privacy policy will apply to the processing of your personal information.

18. The Prize is non-exchangeable and non-transferable.  The Winner has no right to request or receive an alternative to the Prize, and the Prize cannot be redeemed for cash or its monetary value, in whole or in part. 

19. Notwithstanding paragraph 18 above, in the event that, for any reason beyond the Promoter’s reasonable control, the Promoter is unable to award the Prize as described in these Terms and Conditions, the Promoter reserves the right to award a prize of a similar nature and an equivalent value, or at its sole discretion, the cash value of the Prize.  The Promoter also reserves the right to award a prize of a similar nature and an equivalent value, or at its sole discretion, the cash value of the Prize if in its reasonable discretion it is appropriate to do so.

20. The Winner is responsible for paying all costs and expenses that are not included within the Prize, but are incidental to the Winner redeeming the Prize, including (for example) transport, accommodation, meal costs, spending money, insurance and any other incidentals.  The Winner is also personally responsible for any personal expenses and any VAT, national and/or local tax liabilities (if any) incurred in claiming or using the Prize.  

21. By participating in the Promotion, participants agree that the Prize is awarded on an “as is” basis and that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, neither the Promoter nor any of its subsidiary or affiliated companies, make any guarantees, representations or warranties of any nature with respect to the Prize. 

Winner Notification and Claiming Prize 

22. The Promoter will use its reasonable endeavours to notify the Winner by email or using the other contact details provided to the Promoter within 14 days after 19 July 2026. The Winner needs to confirm acceptance of the Prize within 14 days of being notified they have won. Winners may be required to submit valid identification before receiving their prize.   

23. If a Winner (i) cannot be contacted within this 14 day window or (ii) refuses or is unable to confirm acceptance of the Prize, the Promoter reserves the right to award the Prize to the participant with the next highest verified points total. If the original Winner was selected via a random tie-break draw, the Promoter reserves the right to select an alternative Winner at random from the remaining pool of tied participants. 

24. The Prize will be delivered, or details with instructions on how to book or obtain the Prize will be communicated, to the Winner within a reasonable time and by no later than 28 (twenty eight) days after the Prize has been accepted.  

Publicity and Data Protection 

25. The Promoter will collect and process participants’ personal information in accordance with the privacy policy at http://www.newsprivacy.co.uk/. See also clauses 28 to 30, with regard to announcement of the Winner.  

26. The Promoter is required to either publish or make available information that indicates a valid award took place. As such, (and subject to any objections of the Winner) the Promoter will send the surname and county of the Winner, to anyone that contacts the Promoter at the address given above by no later than 28 (twenty eight) days after the end of the Promotion Period. 

27. The Winner of this Promotion may be asked to participate in publicity.

28. If a Winner objects to their information being published and/or made available, or participating in publicity as described above, they should inform the Promoter at the earliest opportunity by emailing help@thesun.co.uk.  The Winner acknowledges that the Promoter may still be required to share their details with the Advertising Standards Authority or other regulators.

Liability 

29. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall in any way limit or exclude the Promoter’s liability for fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by its negligence or for any other matter where liability may not be limited as a matter of law. 

30. The Promoter will not be responsible for any damage, loss or injury resulting from participants’ entry into the Promotion or their acceptance and/or use of the Prize, or for technical, hardware or software failures, lost, faulty or unavailable network connections or difficulties of any kind that may limit or prohibit participant’s ability to participate in the Promotion.  Your statutory rights are not affected.

31. The Promoter will not be responsible for any lost, damaged, defaced, incomplete, illegible or otherwise unreadable entries. Proof of sending an entry (whether by post, email, SMS or other method) is not proof of receipt by the Promoter of any entries.

32. Without prejudice to a participant’s statutory rights and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not be responsible or liable to compensate the Winner or accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by or any personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up a Prize.

33. The title in the Prize and any risk of loss or damage to the Prize will pass to the Winner upon delivery of the Prize to such Winner. The Promoter is not liable for or obliged to replace any defective, lost, damaged or stolen Prize where such defect, loss or damage is not due to the fault and/or negligence of the Promoter.

General 

34. The Promoter’s decision as to the Winner of the Prize is final and binding on the participants. The Promoter will not enter into correspondence with participants in relation to this decision.

35. Participants agree to keep confidential any information of any nature regarding the Promoter and its businesses, personnel, agents, sponsors and event promoters received by participants as a result of winning or participating in any Promotion.

36. The provision of the Prize does not imply endorsement by the Promoter of Amazon or any third parties concerned in any way with the Promotion. Any complaints or queries relating to the use of the Prize should be directed to Amazon. 

37. Unless otherwise stated in the promotional materials, this Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, the manufacturer or service provider of the relevant Prize. Participants are providing their information to the Promoter and not to the manufacturer or service provider of the relevant Prize (although, if a participant wins, their details may be disclosed to the Prize provider in order to provide them with the Prize).

38. The Promoter reserves the right to extend, withdraw, alter, or suspend these Specific Terms and Conditions, the Promotion, or any element of the Prize, and accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, or inability of a winner to redeem their Prize, due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control. These circumstances include, but are not limited to: cancellation or postponement of the Prize,  travel cancellations or delays, being denied entry, detained, deported, or otherwise restricted by any immigration or border control authority for any reason, strike, lock-out, labour dispute, illness, act of God, natural disaster, adverse weather conditions, war, riot, civil commotion, accident, public health concerns, epidemic or pandemic, malicious damage, fire, flood, compliance with any law or governmental order, breakdown of plant and machinery, actions of third parties, or personal circumstances affecting the winner or their guest(s).

39. Participants must not do anything illegal and/or dangerous and/or that would put themselves or others at any risk with the Prize or in connection with the Promotion in any way.  

40. Any participant who enters or attempts to enter the Promotion in a manner, which in the Promoter’s reasonable opinion is contrary to these Terms and Conditions or by its nature is unjust to other participants (including tampering with the operation of the Promotion, cheating, hacking, deception or any other unfair playing practices such as intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other participants or the Promoter and/or any of its agents or representatives) may be rejected from the Promotion at the Promoter’s sole discretion. Furthermore, where such actions have significantly impaired the Promotion, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, add further stages to the Promotion as it deems reasonably necessary in order to resolve any problems arising from such actions.

41. The Promoter reserves the right, at any time, to cancel, modify or amend any element of the Promotion and/or these Terms and Conditions. Any such cancellation or any material amendment will be notified by posting the updated Terms and Conditions on the Promoter’s website. The Promoter is not responsible for any loss or damage caused to you as a result of any event outside the Promoter’s control.

42. These Terms and Conditions are governed by English law. The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear any dispute or claim arising in association with the Promotion or these Terms and Conditions.

43. The Promoter may transfer all or part of its rights under these Terms and Conditions to someone else without obtaining your consent; provided such transfer does not significantly disadvantage you.

44. Any provision of these Terms and Conditions which is deemed illegal and/or prohibited or unenforceable under any applicable law will be ineffective to the extent of such illegality, prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions.

45. If you have any difficulty accessing or entering this Promotion, please contact the Promoter at help@thesun.co.uk. If you would like these terms and conditions in another format (for example: audio, large print, braille), please get in contact and the Promoter will endeavour to provide it.