The 2026 World Cup finals open a new chapter for world football when the tournament scale is expanded to 48 teams, an increase of 16 teams compared to the old format. This change has increased the number of matches to 104 matches, the most since the tournament was born.
According to the new format, 48 teams will be divided into 12 groups, each group including 4 teams. At the end of the group stage, 24 first and second place teams and 8 third place teams with the best results will win the right to participate in the knockout round. The tournament will enter the rounds of 1/16, 1/8, quarter-finals, and semi-finals before determining the champion.
In addition to expanding the number of participating teams, the 2026 World Cup also recorded the first time there were 3 countries co-hosting, including the US, Canada and Mexico. The tournament is held in 16 different locations across North America.
In which, the US is the main host country with most of the matches, including the final, while Canada and Mexico will host the group stage matches and part of the knockout stage matches.
FIFA also continues to promote the application of technology to support operations. The VAR system has been upgraded and used more widely, while modern tools such as 3D graphics situation reenactment or artificial intelligence data analysis have been put into operation.
These technologies not only support referees to make more accurate decisions but also contribute to improving the quality of match monitoring and analysis.
