The International Football Federation (FIFA) has officially approved the new format of the World Cup, which will be held jointly by the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026.

The number of matches at the World Cup may increase to over a hundred.

FIFA is considering changing the format of the next men's World Cup to be held in 2026 in the United States, Mexico and Canada. This is reported by The Guardian.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first in history in which 48 teams will compete at once. Currently, 32 national teams are participating in the tournament. Due to the increase in the number of participants, FIFA decided to change the format of the competition. According to it, the countries in the first round will be divided into groups of not four national teams, but three, and the number of these groups will double: from eight to 16. Thus, the total number of matches should be 80 games. Learn more about the highlights of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the outlook for the future in 2026 at this link.

However, according to The Guardian, in Doha during the 2022 World Cup, FIFA representatives discussed options for changing the format again.

How exactly can the World Cup change

The international federation is currently considering moving back to groups of four. Accordingly, there may be 12 groups instead of 16.

However, it will have an impact on the format of selection for the playoffs. That is, 104 matches will be played at the World Cup: 40 more than in Qatar, and 32 teams will go to the playoffs at once, which is equal to the total number of participants at the 2022 World Cup.

This will mean that the duration of the tournament will also increase, as will the potential revenue from ticket sales. However, such a step can increase the saturation of the football players' calendar and affect the course of club championships.

One of the reasons for the potential rejection of the 16x3 format was the fear that in the last rounds of the group round, the number of matches without tournament significance would increase, because most of the playoff participants would be determined ahead of time.

Officially, the changes will be discussed over the coming months, and a final decision on the format will be made in 2023.

What is known

32-team Men's World Cup format since 1998. At the same time, the women's team will grow to such a number of participating national teams only in 2023.
Ukraine submitted a joint application to host the 2030 World Cup together with Portugal and Spain. In particular, as reported by The Times, Ukraine can claim to host matches of several groups of the 2030 World Cup.
At the 2022 World Cup, six of the eight groups have qualified for the playoffs. The Netherlands, Senegal, England, USA, Argentina, Poland, France, Australia, Japan, Spain, Morocco and Croatia have already reached the 1/8 finals.
Brazil and Portugal also guaranteed themselves a place in the playoffs. Two more teams will be determined in the last matches of the third round in groups G and H.
The last day of the group round of the 2022 World Cup: when and which matches of the third round to watch
World Cup 2022 on Social Sport: how to watch matches, live broadcasts, studios and all key information
Read 5 things you need to know about Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup on this page.