How much prize money will the third and fourth-place teams at the 2026 World Cup receive?
Let’s be honest, there is little prestige in finishing third or fourth at the World Cup. The only compensation is a bigger slice of the prize money pool.
France and England will be trying to put the disappointment of missing out on a place in the World Cup final behind them and focus on a lesser prize - who finishes the tournament in third and fourth place.
It’s not much consolation for either team - both would have preferred to be psyching themselves up for tomorrow’s final. But apart from the ‘prestige’ of a third or fourth-place finish, there is some incentive to go out with a win - a bigger chunk of the prize money.
That prize will be drawn from the massive $703 million pool which FIFA announced will be distributed between all of the 48 participating teams. It is almost double the $440 million distributed at Qatar 2022.
A word from the boss ahead of France 💭
— England (@England) July 18, 2026
How much prize money will the teams that finish third and fourth get?
The team that wins today’s game for third place will receive $30 million in prize money, while the losing team will receives $28 million for finishing fourth.
Compared to the previous World Cup in Qatar, it’s a modest increase -Croatia, the winners of the third-place match pocketed $27 million while runners-up Morocco picked up $25 million.
Dernier entraînement aux États-Unis avant d’affronter l’Angleterre, samedi soir, pour le match de la 3e place 👊💙 pic.twitter.com/0xX7UbJtqw
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 17, 2026
How much prize money do teams receive at the 2026 World Cup?
The 2026 world champions will receive $51 million, while the runner-up takes home $34 million.
Once again it’s more than the winners and runners-up received at Qatar 2022 - Argentina received $42 million and France, $30 million.
The total has more than doubled since the last tournament, which, of course, featured 16 fewer teams.
Breakdown of 2026 World Cup prize money
Each of the 48 teams will receive a guaranteed base payment of $12.5 million which includes $10 million in qualification money and $2.5 million “to cover preparation costs”. Additional money will be distributed based on how far each team progresses.
| World Cup Finish | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|
| Group Stage | $10 million |
| Round of 32 | $12 million |
| Round of 16 | $16 million |
| Quarter Final | $20 million |
| Fourth place | $28 million |
| Third place | $30 million |
| Second place | $34 million |
| Winner | $51 million |
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