Beer World Cup XI

The football teams play on the pitch. The beers play in the pub.

48 Nations · Real Fixtures · Stupidly Serious Beer Results

Every country in the World Cup gets a beer squad. The actual draw drives the matchups. Pub VAR may upset the scores.

No fantasy bracket. No "best in the world" shortlist. Whatever beat whichever on the pitch is what we line up at the bar.

29 June update: Group stage closed. The Beer World Cup XI knockout begins Wednesday 1 July with the Round of 32 — bracket on the fixtures page.

The whole conceit is loosely based on Loaded magazine's 1995 Lager World Cup — the Lager'lympics — published inside their What's For Tea Love? food and drink supplement, with Loaded Issue 12 (April 1995). This was one of many World Cup knockouts they did, including crisps, vodka, along with a few more insalubrious items. They even had a World Cup of World Cups in the 100th issue where the previous winner, Budvar, lost out to Chilli-flavoured McCoy's!

We have detailed, with remarkable recall, right here: 62 lagers, six knockout rounds, drunk-panel scoring; Budvar beat Molson 178–98 in the final (semi-finalists: Coors and Kronenbourg 1664). Loaded's Crisps and Vodka tournaments survived in the main archive; the Lager'lympics did not — the supplement itself was never digitised.

Loaded launched the same year as the USA hosted the 1994 World Cup, and 32 years later the bloody thing's back in the same country just in time for our Beer World Cup.

We're calling it a coincidence and printing it anyway.

Note: Beers may also be disqualified mid-tournament where appropriate. Krispy Ice — a Walls frozen-lemonade lolly, not a beer — was struck out of Loaded's 1997 Ice Lolly World Cup for being the worst thing I've ever tasted. We respect the ruling and have therefore stolen it.

Companion piece: World Cup 2026 Stadium Beer Map — where to drink near every host ground.