NY Times · Mar 14, 2023
2026 World Cup Will Have Four-Team Groups and 24 More Games
Lionel Messi and Argentina won the 2022 World Cup, the last played with 32 teams.Credit...Carl Recine/ReutersSoccer’s 2026 World Cup in North America, already the largest and the longest in the tournament’s history because of an expansion of the field, is set to grow even more as FIFA leaders were poised to agree to a change in format that will add 24 more games.
The change will result in a marathon soccer championship — 48 teams playing 104 games over as much as 40 days in three countries — and see the champion and the runner-up each play eight games instead of the current seven.