A huge change for the FIFA World Cup!

The FIFA Council has finally approved the format for the 2026 World Cup, which includes 12 groups for the North American tournament. In total, there will be 48 teams.

The nations will be distributed in 12 groups of four, for a total of 104 matches between the group stage and the knockout rounds.

FIFA approves World Cup format for 2026:

104 games
48 teams
12 groups of 4, 3 games played
8 maximum games (up from 7)
Top 2 teams in each group plus 8 best 3rd-placed sides advance pic.twitter.com/2uHLLOC7Eo

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 14, 2023

This increase in teams has been discussed since the idea of a 40-team World Cup was floated in 2013.

And it was in 2017 that the FIFA Council approved the structure for a 48-team expansion.

Since its birth in 1930, the World Cup has grown from 13 representatives to 32, in 1998, and starting in 2026, 48 countries will be vying for soccer’s biggest prize!

Soccer is becoming more and more popular around the world and the quality of the sport is improving, so this increase makes perfect sense for the future.

As the gap between the best and worst teams widens, the results could be uneven in the group stage and maybe even in the round of 16.

But no matter, the World Cup will expand to 48 teams starting in 2026.