The new format for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which includes eight third-place teams advancing to the knockout stage, will make preparation for opponents more difficult, according to FOX Sports soccer analyst Bob Bradley.

Bradley, who coached the U.S. national team in the 2010 World Cup, commented on the altered dynamics of opponent scouting. "The fact that in this World Cup, with the new format [and] there's eight third-place teams, that makes it all a little bit more difficult because you don't know for sure who you're going to play," Bradley said.

"[Team analysts] would have done a lot of work before the World Cup," Bradley said. "And then they would have analysts and their scout teams watching all sorts of games and preparing and then narrowing in on who they might play. That's how they would do it."

"Perhaps if there's a big surprise, you could get caught a little bit, but teams put in a lot of time before the World Cup," Bradley said. "And while the coaching staff focus on their [next] games, some of the analysts and scouts are completely focused on opponents."

During the 2010 World Cup, the United States, under Bradley's coaching, had six-day and five-day breaks between their group stage matches against England, Slovenia, and Algeria. The U.S. team won its group in 2010.

Despite winning their group, the U.S. team experienced a shortened preparation window for their first knockout round game. "We won our group, and yet, somehow, when we won our group, we lost a day," Bradley said. The team played Algeria on a Wednesday and its first knockout game, against Ghana, on the following Saturday, resulting in a three-day turnaround.

Ghana defeated the United States in that 2010 World Cup knockout round match. "Obviously, it just shortens the window for recovery," Bradley said.

The updated 2026 FIFA World Cup format introduces an additional layer of complexity for participating teams in preparing for knockout stage opponents. The inclusion of more third-place teams means that potential matchups may remain uncertain for a longer period, requiring more adaptive and extensive scouting efforts.