A complete operational architecture for the four New World groups: fixtures, cities, stadium-use rotation, simultaneous group finals, recovery windows, venue distribution and reintegration into the global Round of 32.
THE FIVE SOUTH AMERICAN HOST NATIONS
Host teams are visually highlighted throughout this plan.
UruguayHOST
ArgentinaHOST
ParaguayHOST
BrazilHOST
ChileHOSTTHE FOUR ILLUSTRATIVE NEW WORLD GROUPS
UruguayHOST
Sweden
Australia
GabonArgentinaHOST
Norway
China
HondurasParaguayHOST
North Macedonia
South Africa
QatarBrazilHOSTChileHOST
Nicaragua
IranMATCHWEEK 1 — FIRST GROUP MATCHES
Within each South American matchweek block, no venue used on one operational day is used again the next day.
UruguayVSSwedenAustraliaVSGabonArgentinaVSNorwayChinaVSHondurasParaguayVSNorth MacedoniaSouth AfricaVSQatarBrazilVSChileNicaraguaVSIranMATCHWEEK 2 — SECOND GROUP MATCHES
Within each South American matchweek block, no venue used on one operational day is used again the next day.
UruguayVSAustraliaSwedenVSGabonArgentinaVSChinaNorwayVSHondurasBrazilVSNicaraguaChileVSIranParaguayVSSouth AfricaNorth MacedoniaVSQatarMATCHWEEK 3 — FINAL GROUP MATCHES
Within each South American matchweek block, no venue used on one operational day is used again the next day.
UruguayVSGabonSIMULTANEOUS FINALSSwedenVSAustraliaSIMULTANEOUS FINALSArgentinaVSHondurasSIMULTANEOUS FINALSNorwayVSChinaSIMULTANEOUS FINALSParaguayVSQatarSIMULTANEOUS FINALSNorth MacedoniaVSSouth AfricaSIMULTANEOUS FINALSBrazilVSIranSIMULTANEOUS FINALSChileVSNicaraguaSIMULTANEOUS FINALSWHY A · E · I · M?
The four New World groups are deliberately separated through the worldwide closing structure: A closes with B–C–D, E with F–G–H, I with J–K–L and M with N–O–P. This protects simultaneous finals while spreading South American stadium demand across four principal closing days.
BINDING VENUE ROTATION
| BLOCK | HOST CITY |
|---|---|
| MW1 · D1 | Montevideo + Asunción |
| MW1 · D2 | Buenos Aires + Santiago |
| MW1 · D3 | Asunción + Montevideo |
| MW1 · D4 | Rio de Janeiro + Buenos Aires |
| MW2 · D1 | Montevideo + Santiago |
| MW2 · D2 | Buenos Aires + Asunción |
| MW2 · D3 | Rio de Janeiro + Santiago |
| MW2 · D4 | Asunción + Buenos Aires |
| MW3 · D1 | Montevideo + Santiago |
| MW3 · D2 | Buenos Aires + Rio de Janeiro |
| MW3 · D3 | Asunción + Montevideo |
| MW3 · D4 | Rio de Janeiro + Santiago |
FINAL 24-MATCH DISTRIBUTION
| CITY | MW1 | MW2 | MW3 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montevideo | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Buenos Aires | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Asunción | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Santiago | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 |
RECOVERY & STADIUM PROTECTION
During the final group-closing sequence, Montevideo and Rio are reused only after approximately two days, with kickoff windows required to provide about 48 hours or more of real recovery. Santiago receives roughly 72 hours between closing uses. Stadium efficiency never overrides player welfare.
FIVE-CITY BALANCE
The final distribution is 5–5–5–5–4. The maximum difference between any two South American host cities is one match.
BRAZIL–CHILE HOSTING BALANCE
Brazil
Brazil plays all three group matches in Rio de Janeiro, while Rio receives only four New World matches in total.
Chile
Chile plays two of three group matches in Santiago and one — Brazil–Chile — in Rio. In exchange, Santiago receives five New World matches, one more than Rio, and Chile closes its group at home.
HOW THE TOURNAMENT REUNITES
The first and second placed teams in A, E, I and M advance. Eight New World qualifiers then travel to Spain–Portugal–Morocco and enter the same Round of 32 as the other 24 qualifiers. No New World knockout-hosting right is created.
OPERATIONAL PRECEDENTS
2022
Qatar 2022 showed repeated stadium reuse at roughly 48-hour intervals during the group stage.
2026
The 2026 tournament closed its groups across four consecutive days. Scenario A applies the same concentrated-closing logic to A–P while placing only one New World group on each closing day.
THE OLD WORLD BLOCK LOSES NOTHING
Spain, Morocco and Portugal retain the full 104-match structure: 72 group-stage matches plus 32 knockout matches. The New World block adds 24 group matches; it does not take matches away from the existing hosts.