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| Canada is one of the three host countries for the 2026 World Cup. (Source: Canadian Soccer Daily) |
In addition to increasing the number of participating teams, the 2026 World Cup will also feature several notable changes to the group stage, the number of matches, and the knockout rounds. These adjustments are expected to make the World Cup more exciting and competitive.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams competing.
According to a decision from FIFA, the 2026 World Cup will have a total of 48 national teams participating in the final tournament, instead of 32 teams as in the World Cups from 1998 to 2022.
This is the first time in history that the world's biggest football tournament has been expanded to 48 teams. This change aims to create more opportunities for football nations around the world to participate in the World Cup, especially developing regions such as Asia, Africa, and CONCACAF.
With the significant increase in the number of teams, the total number of matches at the 2026 World Cup has also been raised from 64 to 104. The tournament will also be longer than before, taking place from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
New group stage format for the 2026 World Cup
According to the new format approved by FIFA, the 48 national teams will be divided into 12 groups, with each group consisting of 4 teams.
After the group stage:
- The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.
- The eight third-placed teams with the best records will also advance to the knockout round.
Therefore, a total of 32 teams will participate in the knockout round.
This is the biggest difference compared to previous World Cups, when the tournament only had 8 groups and 16 teams advanced to the knockout round.
Initially, FIFA considered a plan to divide the tournament into 16 groups, with 3 teams in each group. However, this option was later abandoned due to concerns about the risk of uncompetitive matches or potential match-fixing.
How does the knockout round change?
Due to the increased number of teams advancing, the 2026 World Cup will feature a new round of 16 before the familiar round of 8.
The knockout format includes:
- Round of 16
- Round of 16
- Quarterfinals
- Semi-finals
- Final
This means that teams reaching the finals will have to play a total of 8 matches instead of the previous 7.
FIFA expects the new format to make the World Cup more exciting by adding more top-level matches and increasing the chances for teams outside the traditional group to create surprises.
The number of participants from each continent has increased significantly.
The expansion to 48 teams also brought about major changes in the allocation of World Cup qualification spots among the continents.
Specifically:
- Asia's share increased to 8.5.
- Africa has 9.5 slots.
- CONCACAF has 6.5 slots.
- South America has 6.5 slots.
- Oceania has its first direct qualification spot.
- Europe remains the region with the most representatives, with 16 spots.
This gives more teams a chance to compete for World Cup qualification, while also increasing the attractiveness of the qualifying rounds in the regions.
With its unprecedented scale and new format, the 2026 World Cup is expected to be a major turning point for world football. Fans will witness more exciting matches, more new teams, and one of the most vibrant World Cups in the tournament's history.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cap-nhat-the-thuc-thi-dau-world-cup-2026-moi-396361.html
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