Just now, FIFA announced the format of the 2026 World Cup through its official website: 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups, and the third team in the 8 best groups will advance to the knockout rounds.
According to the previous plan, the 48 participating teams of the 2026 World Cup will be divided into 16 groups, each with three teams, and the top two teams will advance to the knockout round, for a total of 80 matches. However, a group of three teams would lead to the emergence of tacit goals, and after being opposed, FIFA abandoned the plan.
Subsequently, FIFA adjusted the format, with 48 teams divided into 12 groups, with the top two teams automatically qualifying, and the 8 best third-place teams in the group also advancing to the round of 32. As 32 teams advance to the knockout rounds, the knockout stage will add 1/16 finals, and the 2026 World Cup will have as many as 104 matches, 40 more than the 2022 World Cup.
The team that finally qualified for the final will play eight matches, one more than in the 2022 World Cup, and the duration of matches has also been increased from the current 28 days to 39 days, and the final will be played on July 19, 2026.
This means that the 2026 World Cup will be the World Cup with the largest number of participating teams, the most matches and the longest time in history.
Argentine player Lionel Messi, who won the World Cup Ballon d'Or, kisses the Hercules Cup at the award ceremony on December 18, 2022.
The 2026 World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and this is the fourth time that the World Cup has been held in North America (the previous three were the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and the 1994 World Cup in the United States), and it is also the first time in the history of the World Cup that the three countries have jointly held it.
Comprehensive FIFA official website, etc