The sports body pointed out that the decision to increase the magnitude of the tournament, for the first time in six years, responds to “an exhaustive examination” that took into account several factors.
Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports / Sipa USA / Legion-Media
La FIFA has approved this Tuesday the new format of the 2026 World Cup that will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The group stage will feature 48 teams and 104 matches will be played in total.
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By preserving groups of four teams instead of reducing them to three, FIFA’s new schedule means double the 52 matches played in the US at the 1994 World Cup and also a significant increase from 64. matches of each tournament from 1998 to 2022.
Now, to win the World Cup, the national teams will have to play eight games, one more than the seven in force since 1974. There will be 12 groups of four teams instead of 16 groups of three, the plan chosen in 2017.
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The top two teams from each group and the first eight to finish third will advance to a new round of 32 to kick off the playoffs. In 1998, when the tournament was expanded from 24 to 32 teams, the possibility that third-placed teams might advance to the next phase was eliminated.
FIFA noted that the decision to increase the magnitude of the tournament – for the first time in six years – responded to “an exhaustive review that took into account sporting integrity, player well-being, national team travel, commercial attractiveness and sports, as well as the experience of the teams and fans.
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