“The FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed change to the 2026 FIFA World Cup competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four, with the top two teams (from each group) and the top eight third-placed teams progressing to the knockout stage,” FIFA said in a statement. . “The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time for all involved,” she added.
Today, the FIFA Council set the date for the 2026 World Cup final on July 19. In the football calendar, 56 days will be reserved for the tournament and the preparatory period before it. The date of the opening match has not yet been fixed.
Last year’s championship in Qatar, like all WC tournaments since 1998, was attended by 32 teams divided into eight groups of four. The medalists thus played the maximum number of seven matches, in 2026 the most successful teams will have one more match.
In Qatar, spectators saw a total of 64 matches over 29 days. The original plan for the 2026 championship counted on a portion of 80 matches, but today’s decision by FIFA to adjust the distribution of groups increased their number.
