Six years after initially agreeing to overhaul the format of the men's World Cup, FIFA leaders are set to scrap their ill-fated plan for three-team groups and approve a new format for the 2026 tournament — a 48-team bonanza hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
But it will be unwieldy in its own ways: Eight third-place teams will qualify for the round of 32; the entire tournament will feature 104 matches, up from 64, a weighty expansion that will increase burdens on both host cities and players; and it will last an entire week longer than ever before.
The 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four. The top two in each group will advance. The third-place teams will then be ranked based on points, goal differential and other tiebreakers if necessary, and the top eight of 12 will round out the knockout stage — which will begin with a round of 32 before proceeding just like the old format.Ever since 1998, 32-team men's World Cups have featured 64 games over roughly 32 days.
When FIFA members chose the U.S., Canada and Mexico to jointly host the 2026 World Cup, the tentative agreement between North American neighbors was for 60 games stateside and 10 each in Canada and Mexico. Thehad been operating on the assumption that they'd each get five or six games.
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