World Cup Random Selection Draw Application
Background
Alright, so for more background go to my previous post on this main application. But all you really need to know is that the majority of tickets will be released in this lottery stage. There’s like a bajillion applications already, so your odds are low, but hey, it’s a little effort, and you might as well try. The key is that you need to submit your application through FIFA before January 13th, 2026. So I’m posting this with a few days for readers to still have a chance to act and submit an application.
FIFA has leaned into capitalism America hard and is pricing tickets significantly higher than previous World Cups. This is the first one that they’ve allowed an approved free secondary market (prior you could “return” them at cost minus fees or illegally resell them on secondary marketplaces). Free as in you can price tickets at any amount, obviously they’ll continue to take fees from those secondary transactions, they don’t wanna leave money on the table… they’ve also recognized that there is an overwhelming demand for live events in America and people are much more willing to pay a higher cost to experience it. Quick tangent, the reason why ticket prices are high aren’t fees, Ticketmaster, resellers, or greedy performers / corporations, it’s because we have decided those prices are worth it. Only way prices will drop is if you don’t pay them to go. Go to minor, amateur, and local sports. See smaller production shows and newer younger artists at smaller venues. There are a lot of events that do not cost a lot of money.
But I digress. FIFA has a product there is demand for, so they’ve very slowly released tickets at high prices and showed fast sell outs. The internet seems to estimate that only a third of tickets have actually been purchased through the two presales and hospitality sales, so there’s a lot remaining. I had the opportunity to purchase some face value tickets for some category 1 and 2 tickets, and I chose not to. My prediction is that I simply don’t believe that these prices are worth it. Some games will have prices exceed the face value, but many will not. The group stage simply has too many matches with too little jeopardy to be an appealing product. Add to that that FIFA doesn’t seem to understand that the diehard fans are actually part of the product too, and many of them are priced out. There will still be plenty of people to attend, and probably a lot of really intense fans. You just miss out on some of the energy when these prices are not accessible to the majority of fans.
In fairness, these prices are reasonable with the American sports market, however, this is a world event, and it will only be good and memorable if the world shows up. And most of the world earns less and has expectations of ticket prices at much less. I really worry that this will be an event where privileged people are just their to take a picture for their social media and aren’t going to participate as a fan. I mean that, participating as a fan is one of the best parts of attending a live match. And it’s not that I’m opposed to neutrals or casual fans attending, there just needs to be a larger amount of reserved and affordable tickets for diehard fans of their teams. I want new people to experience it, but it should be balanced with the real product. Qatar, for all its failures, at least did a great job of providing access to a large number of people who never thought they would ever get to watch a World Cup game in person. North Africans, Middle Eastern, and Southern Asians in particular, took advantage of the geography, access, and relative affordability and showed up in droves. America looks to simply return alcohol, dilute the tournament, and claim it’s bigger and therefore better than ever.
The World Cup is majestic for how the national anthems are sung by stadiums and goals are scored and celebrated with an energy that is some of the best sports can produce. And I fear FIFA is ruining it for the pursuit of money.
“...it is expensive to go to America anyway. The tickets are expensive. If you can get there and you can afford to be there, then fantastic, but don’t push yourself too far into debt trying to get there.”
Application Recommendation
This is my recommendation for the casual intermittent soccer fan looking to get affordable tickets and not overspend.
Apply for your local city
Tickets are definitely priced cheaper in certain cities, but the cost to get there and stay will outweigh any savings from the ticket itself. Just go to the stadium that’s closest to you (if you’re agnostic to a particular team).
Apply for Category 3 tickets only
These are the cheapest tickets available. I genuinely believe that basically every single stadium will probably sell out at this price. You are basically guaranteed to be able to resell your ticket at cost if you decide to not or cannot attend the match.
I do not believe the same about Category 1 tickets and their associated prices. There is genuine risk that the resell market drops below these prices. They are staggeringly high for a number of dead rubber matches. In my opinion, FIFA is hoping people don’t really understand what they’re purchasing and just believe that every game will matter. There are many that simply will not consequentially matter in the Group Stage. Teams may play their substitutes to preserve their stars for a busy tournament schedule, especially in the heat of the summer, and even those who play may choose to not push themselves as hard to save their legs or not risk injury when the game’s result may not matter.
Apply for knockout round tickets
Yes, you don’t know which teams you’ll see, but I promise because it is a single elimination tournament (if you win you move on, if you lose you go home) there will be drama, emotion, and passion. And that’s really why we go to sports. Collective effervescence (one of my phrases of 2025) is a wonderful feeling.
Skip European teams in the Group Stage in favor of African and South American
If you have a few options for group stage matches I suggest going to see these passionate lower ranked teams. The style of play is generally more expansive and chaotic and their fans are louder and always eager to see them upset the European elite. Most, if not all of the European teams will expect to go to the next round, and I expect their fans to save money and show up for the later rounds.
Oh and take public transportation to the game
Not only is it more efficient and better for logistics, but parking pass prices have been rumored to be over $50-$100 depending on the stadium and game.
Step by Step Instructions with Pictures
This is my recommendation for the casual intermittent soccer fan (in New York, but you should adjust for your city). I’ll also just call it World Cup Tickets For Dummies (no offense, it’s for the SEO). Do the following steps:
Select Learn more on the left side of the screen underneath Tickets. This will open a new tab and you have to sign up or log in. It requires a double authentication with an email address. So do that and you’ll get to the following Application home screen.
At the bottom, you’ll see Random Selection Draw, followed by My Team - Algeria, My Team - Austria, etc. etc. This doesn’t really apply to you unless you really want to see a specific team, in which case, this post isn’t for you. So for those of you still with me, ignore these and click Random Selection Draw.
Unless you really want to read the Official Rules, Terms of Service, Data Protection Portal and Privacy Notice, click Continue.
Alright, we’re at the main page now. I’d suggest clicking filter (the dark button at the top left) and it’ll bring up a pop up with two options.
Click Venue, a dropdown menu will appear, scroll to find your city, then click it and hit Apply Filters.
You’ll now just see matches available in your preferred venue(s). You’ll see the match number, date, and kickoff time on the left. The teams playing in the middle (if they’re known already) and a Show More button at the bottom right of each match.
Matches 1-24 are the first group stage round.
Matches 25-48 are the second group stage round.
Matches 49-72 are the third group stage round.
Matches 73-88 are the Round of 32 knockout stage round.
Matches 89-96 are the Round of 16 knockout stage round.
Matches 97-100 are the Quarter-Finals knockout stage round.
Matches 101 & 102 are the Semi-Finals knockout stage round.
Match 103 is the Third Place Final.
Match 104 is the Final.
Tickets for the Group Stage are the cheapest, and it basically gets more expensive from there. Check out this pricing tool, they do a great job aggregating the prices for you so you can see them without going through it manually on FIFA’s website. Here’s New York / New Jersey’s.
So those are the face value prices for the tickets if you win the lottery. As you can see the Category 3 tickets are around half the price of the Category 2 tickets and nearly a third of the price of the Category 1 tickets. My personal perspective is that if it’s a good sporting event, it doesn’t really matter where you are in the stadium, you’re going to have a good time. If you want a good view, go watch it on television, you can basically never beat that view.
Now, here’s some important rules, late in the game:
You can apply for up to 4 tickets a match.
You can apply for up to 40 tickets an application.
Your application may be fully or partially successful.
Whatever that total price is of the successfully approved application, whether it’s 40 tickets or 1 ticket, you are on the hook for the correlating amount if you want any of the tickets.
This means if you apply for 40 tickets and get approved for 20 but only want 10, you have the pay the price of the 20 tickets and figure out what to do with the extra 10.
So only apply for what you definitely want or what you think you’ll definitely be able to resell or give away.
And the credit card you use will be charged (it’s unclear if they’ll allow you to change it later, so to be safe, make it your higher limit credit card; do not read this as go into debt, never ever ever carry a balance on a credit card. If you cannot pay it off before interest is incurred then you should not be buying it).
When you click a match, 9 options will show up, but really it’s just 3. Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3. The other options are just for handicap / accessible fans. Category 1 are theoretically the best seats and Category 3 are the worst seats and they’re priced accordingly.
This is Brazil v. Morocco:
And here are all five group stage matches for New York / New Jersey.
And the three knockout round matches in New York / New Jersey
Alright this is where things will split based on how much money you’re willing to spend. Remember, if your entire application is awarded, you have to pay the total price, so you want to be careful with which you select and how many you pick.
My bare minimum suggestion is that you apply for the following two games (for New Yorkers / New Jerseyians / Connecticutters).
This is 8 tickets across two matches, all for Category 3 tickets, 4 for each match (because the more the merrier):
Brazil v. Morocco on June 13th
This is one of the most historically passionate fan bases (who have a pretty large population in the area) and successful teams against a very passionate fan base and rising powerhouse in soccer.
Brazil is legendary in their yellow kits with blue and green trim. Their fans are incredibly passionate, and while the team is imbalanced a bit lackluster recently, you can be assured that the fans will show up. I don’t need to elaborate on them more. If you know one thing about Brazil, it’s probably that they love soccer. I doubt most of you could name their capital.
Morocco is getting louder and louder and is honestly a dark horse to win the whole thing. Outside of the European and South American teams (and weirdly the USA), they have the best odds to win. They got to fourth in the last iteration, becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-final of the World Cup. They broke the longest winning streak in international soccer last year with 19 consecutive wins. And their youth team (players under 20 years old) just won the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year. This team is on the rise and shows no signs of stopping. There’s also a strong Moroccan population in New York, so you can expect this game to be raucous.
This match has little meaning because Haiti and Scotland are significantly worse than both of these teams, but because it’s the first game of the group, I imagine both trophy contenders will want to set a good pace and vibes. Get a first win early and then can rotate players afterwards. At the very least, the atmosphere will be loud.
A random Round of 32 knockout round match on June 30th
In my opinion single elimination knockout sports are just the best. Think NCAA March Madness, NFL, and College Football Playoffs. In the soccer world, they take it to the next level with the US Open Cup, the FA Cup, the Championship Playoff, and many many others. The World Cup follows this model after the group stage, and it’s just a great time. This is the World Cup at its finest.
These prices are very favorable because it’s probably a lopsided match up. Likely pitting France or Norway against a poor struggling third place team that is going to get dunked on.
Odds are…. Scotland, Turkey, Poland, Iran, or Saudi Arabia. You heard the prediction here first!
If you really are cash strapped, again, do not go into debt for silly sports tickets. The true bare minimum would be just two category 3 tickets for Brazil v. Morocco for $560 all in. In my opinion this is a better guarantee for a good match and atmosphere that will be memorable and worthwhile.
Okay, so after you’ve added your tickets, and you’ve reviewed them (you can filter at the top right / hit Show Details at the bottom to see your cart)you’ll hit the Continue button.
Here you have a few options:
Sit Together is the first option.
You can put in someone else’s completed application number so if you both win tickets to it, they’ll try and seat you together. I suppose you might as well have mine (15797595) if you want. There’s no guarantee, but might as well try!
The next option is to Expand Ticket Category Preferences.
Basically this increases your odds greatly because it allows FIFA to give you a chance at getting tickets in a different category. I do think if you want to go, you click this option. I imagine category 2 tickets have better odds since people are generally going to pick either end of the category spectrum.
Put in your credit card (remember to have a credit limit greater than your ticket application total).
Click the box to agree to the terms.
Click Submit Application. You’ll get an email confirmation.
Results will be announced around February 5th, and you’ll have a window of opportunity to accept and they’ll charge your credit card.
Good luck!
Step by Step Instructions
This is the same as above, so skip it if you’ve already done it all. The pictures just got a bit unwieldly, so I thought I would just consolidate the text here:
This is my recommendation for the casual intermittent soccer fan (in New York, but you should adjust for your city). I’ll also just call it World Cup Tickets For Dummies (no offense, it’s for the SEO). Do the following steps:
Select Learn more on the left side of the screen underneath Tickets. This will open a new tab and you have to sign up or log in. It requires a double authentication with an email address. So do that and you’ll get to the following Application home screen.
At the bottom, you’ll see Random Selection Draw, followed by My Team - Algeria, My Team - Austria, etc. etc. This doesn’t really apply to you unless you really want to see a specific team, in which case, this post isn’t for you. So for those of you still with me, ignore these and click Random Selection Draw.
Unless you really want to read the Official Rules, Terms of Service, Data Protection Portal and Privacy Notice, click Continue.
Alright, we’re at the main page now. I’d suggest clicking filter (the dark button at the top left) and it’ll bring up a pop up with two options.
Click Venue, a dropdown menu will appear, scroll to find your city, then click it and hit Apply Filters.
You’ll now just see matches available in your preferred venue(s). You’ll see the match number, date, and kickoff time on the left. The teams playing in the middle (if they’re known already) and a Show More button at the bottom right of each match.
Tickets for the Group Stage are the cheapest, and it basically gets more expensive from there. Check out this pricing tool, they do a great job aggregating the prices for you so you can see them without going through it manually on FIFA’s website. Here’s New York / New Jersey’s.
Now, here’s some important rules, late in the game:
You can apply for up to 4 tickets a match.
You can apply for up to 40 tickets an application.
Your application may be fully or partially successful.
Whatever that total price is of the successfully approved application, whether it’s 40 tickets or 1 ticket, you are on the hook for the correlating amount if you want any of the tickets.
This means if you apply for 40 tickets and get approved for 20 but only want 10, you have the pay the price of the 20 tickets and figure out what to do with the extra 10.
So only apply for what you definitely want or what you think you’ll definitely be able to resell or give away.
And the credit card you use will be charged (it’s unclear if they’ll allow you to change it later, so to be safe, make it your higher limit credit card; do not read this as go into debt, never ever ever carry a balance on a credit card. If you cannot pay it off before interest is incurred then you should not be buying it).
When you click a match, 9 options will show up, but really it’s just 3. Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3. The other options are just for handicap / accessible fans. Category 1 are theoretically the best seats and Category 3 are the worst seats and they’re priced accordingly.
Alright this is where things will split based on how much money you’re willing to spend. Remember, if your entire application is awarded, you have to pay the total price, so you want to be careful with which you select and how many you pick.
My bare minimum suggestion is that you apply for the following two games (for New Yorkers / New Jerseyians / Connecticutters):
Brazil v. Morocco on June 13th
A random Round of 32 knockout round match on June 30th
If you really are cash strapped, again, do not go into debt for silly sports tickets. The true bare minimum would be just two category 3 tickets for Brazil v. Morocco for $560 all in. In my opinion this is a better guarantee for a good match and atmosphere that will be memorable and worthwhile.
Okay, so after you’ve added your tickets, and you’ve reviewed them (you can filter at the top right / hit Show Details at the bottom to see your cart)you’ll hit the Continue button.
Here you have a few options:
Sit Together is the first option.
You can put in someone else’s completed application number so if you both win tickets to it, they’ll try and seat you together. I suppose you might as well have mine (15797595) if you want. There’s no guarantee, but might as well try!
The next option is to Expand Ticket Category Preferences.
Basically this increases your odds greatly because it allows FIFA to give you a chance at getting tickets in a different category. I do think if you want to go, you click this option. I imagine category 2 tickets have better odds since people are generally going to pick either end of the category spectrum.
Put in your credit card (remember to have a credit limit greater than your ticket application total).
Click the box to agree to the terms.
Click Submit Application. You’ll get an email confirmation.
Results will be announced around February 5th, and you’ll have a window of opportunity to accept and they’ll charge your credit card.
Good luck!
My Application(s)
I’ve made multiple applications (for different family members), but generally the basics are that I applied to 40 category 3 tickets in each (except the Final, I did opt for Category 2 for the final, I’ll explain at the bottom) and we’ll see if we get any. I focused on the Netherlands, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Below is my main application, though keep in mind that I have separate plans that have influenced when and where I can be at matches (two weddings during this tournament that I’ll be going to).
Okay, so while I definitely believe in Category 3 tickets being a reasonable value, I also simultaneously believe Category 2 ticket applications are much more likely to be successful (and Category 1 ticket applications even more successful). The increased price will reduce competition, and FIFA will want to take more money from you. I compared the relationship of price between the categories.
The average differences across all matches between:
Cat1 v. Cat2 was 30%
Cat2 v. Cat3 was 114%
Cat1 v. Cat3 was 175%
This emphasizes generally how much lower priced Cat3 tickets are and how similar Cat1 and Cat2 are. And the ranges were:
Cat1 v. Cat2 was 17% - 56%
Cat2 v. Cat3 was 33% - 179%
Cat1 v. Cat3 was 95% - 254%
The Final’s Category 2 relationships were at the extreme ends of these ranges:
Cat1 v. Cat2 was 56%
Cat2 v. Cat3 was 33%
Cat1 v. Cat3 was 107%
It meant that the Final’s categories are oddly priced in comparison to most of the other matches. Category 2 is literally priced further away from Category 1 and closer to Category 3 than any other game’s category ticket prices. I took this as Cat2 is best valued for the Final. You can see the relationship data below. So this is an incredibly long winded way to say I wanted to increase my odds and gave Cat2 a shot for the Final, since there will be demand for those tickets regardless. For comparison, the Super Bowl (which is annual) for the past five years has averaged around $5,000 a ticket.
