The upcoming FIFA World Cup in 2026 promises to be bigger and better, with the biggest sporting event in the world set to transform from a 32-team to a 48-team tournament.
In what will be the first time that three countries — USA, Canada and Mexico — will host the World Cup, the expanded format will now have a total of 104 matches instead of the 64 games that had been the norm since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which was also the last time that the organising body of football in the world last made changes to the format of the tournament. The same was confirmed by the global soccer governing body on Tuesday.
"The FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32," FIFA said.
"The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches while providing balanced rest time between competing teams."
The last World Cup kicked off in Qatar on November 20 and went on for 29 days, i.e December 20, with Lionel Messi's Argentina winning the ultimate trophy. The last time Mexico (1986) and the United States (1994) hosted a World Cup, there were only 24 teams.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup in France was the first time the tournament fielded 32 teams, with eight groups of four and the finalists playing seven games each. The new and improved format will see the finalists now playing eight matches from the 2026 edition of the mega event.
Earlier, the place was to have 80 matches but the decision to increase the number of games to 104 was approved by FIFA's council at a meeting on Tuesday.
Sticking to the basics, the new format will keep four teams in 12 groups, scrapping the initial proposal for a three-team group. While the usual top two teams from each group will advance to the last 32, the 2026 edition will see the eight best third-placed teams moving into the knockout round of 32.
