National team rosters for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar will expand from 23 to 26 players, FIFA announced Thursday.
The long-expected decision comes as no surprise after rosters at last summer’s Euros were set at 26 while both the Copa América and the African Cup of Nations were played with 28-man squads. The rosters were originally expanded during pandemic-era tournaments to counter the possibility of players testing positive for COVID-19.
The news comes less than two weeks after the International Football Association Board formally changed the game’s rules to allow for five substitutions in a match, meaning there will be two significant changes at the fall World Cup.