The 2026 edition will be larger than anything the competition has seen before.
Previous tournaments from 1998 to 2022 included 32 nations and 64 fixtures in total. This time, the event expands to 48 participants and 104 matches. Merely trimming the field to 32 sides will already require 72 fixtures, which is eight more than the entire schedule of a 32-team format.
Although three countries are co-hosting, the United States will stage far more than any other nation has ever managed in a single competition. It will host 14 more fixtures than the previous record and 26 more than it did when the event came to its soil in 1994.
The first 27 days of action, from the curtain raiser through the last-32 round, will feature 96 contests without a single rest day. Only one day will stage a solitary clash, and two other days will include two fixtures. All the remaining 24 days will deliver between three and six matches.
By the final week of the group stage, the calendar will be jam-packed. From June 24 to 27, 18 games will be played—more than the entire total of the 1934 edition, which only had 17.
The abandoned plan of three-team groups
Originally, FIFA had considered creating 16 trios instead of 12 groups of four.
That plan would have produced 80 fixtures in total, noticeably fewer than 104. It would also have been simpler to follow, with the two best teams moving straight into the round of 32 to face each other in a clear bracket.
However, every team would only have been assured two matches, not three. More importantly, the structure would have been vulnerable to manipulation. With three-team groups, only three fixtures could be played, and no two at the same time. That meant one team would always complete its games earlier, leaving the final fixture open to scenarios where both sides knew exactly what outcome would secure progress.
The risk of collusion across 16 groups proved too significant, and the plan was eventually dropped despite its more compact design.
The adopted system of 12 groups of four
Instead, the competition will use 12 sections of four, echoing the approach of earlier tournaments such as the 1986, 1990, and 1994 World Cups, or more recent 24-team European Championships.
The formula is straightforward: the top two from each group advance, and they are joined by the eight best third-placed nations to complete the last 32.
It is less tidy than the three-team plan, but it ensures fairness and avoids the controversies that might have arisen otherwise.
The expanded knockout rounds
Once the field has been reduced to 32, the knockout journey follows a familiar path. The difference is simply scale.
Group winners will mostly be paired against third-placed finishers, although four of them will meet runners-up. Meanwhile, the remaining runners-up will be matched against each other.
From there, the tournament progresses in the traditional order: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final.
For the first time, the eventual champion will need to play eight matches rather than seven, adding one extra step on the road to lifting the trophy.
