2026 World Cup set to be bigger and longer than any previous tournament
extended World Cup in 2026 where Canada, Mexico and the United StatesFIFA’s idea was to have 48 teams contest the showpiece tournament with 16 groups of three. The top two would qualify to a 32-team knockout competition.Advertisement
But following resistance to those plans, the new format will consist of 12 groups of four with the eight best third-placed teams joining the top two in the knockout rounds. The tournament will be extended to 104 games over 39 days – an extra week compared to the current format. The extra week will be found by cutting the pre-tournament release period from 23 days to 16, which is slightly less preparation time than previous summer tournaments.
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