Soccer’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.
The format is set to be approved on Tuesday after a meeting of the governing council of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body and the organizer of the World Cup.