The 32-team World Cup was played from 1998 until 2022. There were eight groups and 64 matches overall. Starting in 2026, there will be 48 teams that can participate. The football competition’s upcoming season will take place in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
48 teams will compete in the 2026 World Cup, according to FIFA. Twelve new groups were added, and a total of 104 new matches were played.
The issue was acknowledged by football’s top regulating body in a statement on Tuesday. It said, “The proposed changes to the 2026 World Cup format have been unanimously agreed by the FIFA Council.”
The World Cup included 32 teams from 1998 through 2022. Eight groups and a total of 64 matches were played. From 2026 on, there will be 48 teams that can participate. The football competition will take place across the US, Mexico, and Canada in the next season.
48 teams were previously going to be split up into 16 groups by FIFA. In that situation, each group had three teams. The current 4-team group structure will be adopted at the next World Cup in place of it.
Instead of the current 64 matches, FIFA originally intended to have a total of 80 matches. Also not occurring is that. The next World Cup will include a total of 104 games.
The top two teams from each group’s points standings will move on to the final 32 teams. The top eight teams from the third-placed teams in the 12 groups will join them there. From this point on, the World Cup’s knockout round will start. The last sixteen, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will be held after the final 32.
A team can play a maximum of seven matches under the current format before the finals. The number will rise to eight for the following World Cup.
Argentina is the current world cup champion in football. In a nail-biting final in Qatar in December of last year, Lionel Messi’s squad defeated France after a tiebreaker. They were thrilled to win the Premier League of football for a third time.
