Alright, Blues. The domestic season might have just ended and transfer chatter will continue unabated, but the football absolutely doesn’t stop.
With the World Cup kicking off next weeks, Hill Dickinson might be quiet, but our comment sections are about to heat up. We all know international breaks can feel a bit empty without Everton on our screens, so we’re bringing the community together for the ultimate test of footballing IQ.
Welcome to **The Royal Blue Mersey Bracket Challenge**—our blog’s official World Cup prediction tournament.
Let’s be honest: we spend all year in the comments debating tactics, lineup selections, and transfer targets. We all think we’re tactical masterminds. Well, now is the time to prove it.
This isn’t just about picking who wins the final. You’ll be predicting the entire group stage including scores, navigating the knockout rounds, and—most importantly—tracking how our own Everton players fare on the world stage. Can Jordan Pickford carry England to glory? How far can Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye take Senegal? How much playing time will Nathan Patterson get with Scotland? Your bracket depends on it.
It takes **less than two minutes** to enter, it is **100% free**, and it puts you right in the thick of the blog community for the next month.
We are keeping this incredibly simple. Follow these steps to lock in your spot before the opening match:
**1\. Click the Link:** Takes 30 seconds.
Head over to our official tournament page by clicking **[HERE](https://setpiecepicks.netlify.app/)**. and then click the **‘Join A Group’** button.
**2.Create Your Account:** Use your blog username!.
Sign up with your email. To join the Royal Blue Mersey group, type in the **Invite Code** ‘XQHPDS’ and the **Group Password** ‘Everton’.
**3.Fill Out Your Bracket:** Deadline: Kickoff of Game 1, on Thursday June 11th.
Predict your group standings and map out your knockout tree all the way to the final. Don’t overthink it, but don’t let your heart completely rule your head!
> **The Editor’s Challenge:** The entire writing staff has already locked their brackets in. If you finish below our resident tactical analyst, you have to read their 5,000-word deep dives without complaining for next season. Consider yourselves warned.
We will be posting leaderboard updates after every round, tracking the biggest bracket collapses, and hosting daily live-chat threads for all the games right here on the blog.
Drop a comment below once you’ve signed up and let us know your username and boldest prediction for the tournament. Let’s show the rest of the football world how Toffees do a World Cup.