At the 2026 World Cup it was planned to divide 46 teams into 16 groups, however, according to Archyde.com, FIFA is afraid of boring or fixed matches
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at a press conference that the organization will once more discuss the format of the next World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
It was planned that at the 2026 World Cup 48 teams will be divided into 16 groups, of which two teams will advance to the 1/16 finals.
According to Infantino, there were tense matches and group breakouts in Qatar, so it is possible that there will also be four teams in the next tournament.
On FIFA’s plans to revise the format of the tournament on December 14 reported Archyde.com. According to the agency, the organization wants to avoid boring matches and situations where two teams can play with a score that suits them in order to knock out a third team from the tournament.
The head of FIFA’s global development department, Arsene Vener, admitted that at the 2026 World Cup, teams might be divided into 12 groups with two teams from each plus the best third-placed teams qualifying for the playoffs.
It is also possible that the winners of two large groups of 24 teams each, in which there will be six mini-groups, will meet in the final.