FIFA on Tuesday unveiled a new format for the upcoming World Cup, extending the tournament to 104 games and 40 days.Participating teams are divided into 12 groups of 4 teams each.
The FIFA Council, meeting in Kigali (Rwanda) this Tuesday, new world cup format The North American 2026 edition will split the participating teams as follows: 4 teams 12 pairs .
An increase in the number of teams competing in the final stage, from 32 teams from France in 1998 to Qatar in 2022. 48 From the following schedule, we will enforce this allocation and pass through the group stage accordingly First 2 and 1/3 of best 8 .
In total, from this World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico, 104 games , 40 or more In the previous format, the period is also 40 days from 8 June to 19 July.
According to FIFA, “Revised format Mitigate the risk of collusion ensuring that all teams play a minimum of three games, while balanced break time between competing teams.
The original idea of the group, chaired by Gianni Infantino, was to 16 groups in 3 teams the top two teams advance to a 32-team tie, compared to the 64-game format used since 1998, resulting in a format containing 80 games.
However, the three-team group had two drawbacks. Lost the excitement of the final round group stage matches It is now more likely that the two teams colluded in the previous game to design the results they need.
