A record 48 teams will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup (taking place in North America), with an unprecedented 104 matches played – up from the 64 games played in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.
That number of teams represents an increase of 16, from the 32 teams competing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia – and means that instead of having eight groups of four teams each, the first-round stage of the tournament will feature 12 groups of four teams each.

Hosting Three Nations

For the first time ever, FIFA has selected three nations to jointly host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The three host nations are the USA, Canada, and Mexico; however, while the two former allies have historically enjoyed excellent relations, recent tensions between the U.S. and Mexico have made things difficult.

Increased Number of Matches

FIFA decided to increase the number of participating countries in the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 – a bold move by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

President Gianni Infantino – bbci.co.uk

As a result of the increased number of participating countries, a record 104 matches will take place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup – up from 64 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In addition, the first-round stage of the tournament will feature 12 groups of four teams each – up from the eight groups of four teams that competed in the first-round stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Additional Play-Off Round Introduced

To help alleviate some of the congestion in the later stages of the tournament – the round of 32 has been added to the 2026 FIFA World Cup – meaning that fewer teams will advance beyond the first-round stage of the tournament to the latter stages of the tournament.

Tournament Length

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will last for 39 days – ten days longer than the 29-day duration of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Debutants

Critics of the decision to increase the number of participating countries in the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 – point to the possibility of lowering the overall quality of the soccer that will be played – FIFA believes that its decision to allow more countries to participate in the FIFA World Cup will ultimately benefit the sport. As such, several countries that have never participated in the FIFA World Cup before will be making their debut appearance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. These countries include: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan. Among these countries, Curaçao will likely be the biggest long shot to win a match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup – with a population of less than 160,000 and ranking #82 in the world.

Other Possible Debutants

North Macedonia football command – https://macedonianfootball.com

In addition to the above mentioned countries, other possible debutants may also make their first appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup through the qualifying playoffs in March. These possible debutants include: North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, and possibly even New Caledonia.

Long Distances

While the FIFA World Cup has been hosted in large geographic areas previously, the distance between venues in the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be particularly significant – especially after the relatively short distances traveled to and from venues in Qatar (which is slightly smaller than Connecticut).
The farthest venues from each other will be Vancouver and Miami – with a total distance of 4,507 kilometers separating the two.
Additionally, Germany will have to travel 2,619 kilometers just to go from Houston to Toronto and New Jersey, where the group stage matches will take place – and that does not include the travel to and from the training camp whose location has not been officially announced

Scheduled Hydration Breaks

While scheduled hydration breaks in football are not a new concept, FIFA has announced that there will be mandatory breaks in every 2026 FIFA World Cup match – regardless of weather conditions.

Referees will instruct the players to leave the field for 22 minutes after the start of each half to hydrate. Previously, referees were required to call for “cooling” breaks in situations where the temperature at the beginning of the match exceeded 31 degrees Celsius.
This new policy is based upon FIFA’s concern about the extremely hot temperatures that are expected in several host cities – similar to what occurred during last year’s Club World Cup – and because of those concerns, FIFA has stated that it factored in those expectations when scheduling the kick-off times for the matches.

Not Everyone Can Watch the FIFA 2026 World Cup

Due to the current restrictions placed on citizens from certain countries by the government of the United States – fans who live in Iran and Haiti will not be permitted to attend the matches featuring their national teams.

Iran football command – nyt.com

Iran and Haiti are currently listed as two of the countries whose citizens are prohibited from entering the United States – according to an announcement made by US President Trump in June of last year. However, the national teams themselves will be exempted from the restrictions placed upon Iranian and Haitian citizens by Trump’s executive order, which allows for “any athlete or member of a sports team, including coaches, individuals performing essential support functions, and immediate family members, traveling for the World Cup, Olympic Games, or other major sporting event, as determined by the Secretary of State.”

Cities to Host the Matches Remain Unannounced

There are still questions surrounding the identity of the cities that will host the matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as Trump has repeatedly indicated that he would like to relocate the matches from cities run by Democrats due to “security” concerns.
At a White House meeting in November, Infantino did not express opposition to moving the matches – and instead stated that “security is the top priority for successfully hosting the World Cup.”