2026 FIFA World Cup

World Cup 2026 format

The World Cup 2026 format has changed this year and now has twelve qualifying groups, with the top two automatically qualifying as before but also a further eight of the best performing third placed teams will also progress to the next round.

This was necessary because of how many teams in the World Cup 2026 will be competing, so an extra round fo 32 is now played before going into the traditional last 16. So it is now 8 matches to win the World Cup, and the odds for winning the World Cup are nearly always high, Spain being favourites at 5/1, but the majority of teams are double figures.

What's new in World Cup 26

The extension in teams leads to more matches, more days of football, more games for the winners to need to play and a whole new extra knockout stage. Here are some of those changes in an easy-to-read format.

World Cup 2026 Teams

The 2026 World Cup will see 48 teams come from all over the globe, each continent (known as a confederation) sends the winners of their qualifying rounds. Some confederations have more qualifying slots than others.

The allocation is based on the standard of teams in their geographic area and is done to balance: A) The desire for a wide range of nations to be there, along with B) The very best teams in the world competing. Knowing the teams is obviously key to influencing your World Cup 2026 predictions so below we list which teams each confederation will send:

AFC (Asian Football Confederation)-Teams they will send

Australia

Iran

Japan

Jordan

South Korea

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Uzbekistan

Iraq

CAF (Confederation of African Football) -Teams they will send

Algeria

Cape Verde

Egypt

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Morocco

Senegal

South Africa

Tunisia

DR Congo

CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football)-Teams they will send

Canada

Mexico

United States

Curacao

Haiti

Panama

CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation)-Teams they will send

Argentina

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Paraguay

Uruguay

OFC (Oceania Football Confederation)-Teams they will send

New Zealand

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations)-Teams they will send

Austria

Belgium

Bosnia

Croatia

Czechia

England

France

Germany

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Scotland

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

WC 2026 Key dates

A common question that you will start to hear being asked is, “so when is the World Cup 2026?”. We have the answers for you, the significant World Cup 2026 dates for your diary are…

The times that matches are played varies greatly, and it will depend where you are located what the relevant times will be for you. It is certain that some games will be in the morning and also some will be late at night, so Mobile betting is going to feature heavily for this World Cup as it is unlikely that you will be at home for at least some games.

Where will WC 2026 be held?

This World Cup is the first time that a total of three countries will host the tournament so there are three answers to the question “where is the World Cup 2026”. The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the USA. The event will start in Mexico, but there will only be thirteen matches on Mexican soil in total. Canada will also host thirteen games, with the majority being group stage games, two in the round of 32 and one for the last 16. The vast majority of matches will be held in the USA, some seventy-eight in total including all games from the quarter finals onwards.

World Cup 2026 stadiums and venues

Because of the increased number of matches due to be played, and the fact that the tournament is split between three countries, the fifa world cup 2026 will be played at a record.

FIFA World Cup statistics

The 2026 fifa world cup will be the largest so far, so records are likely to be broken. Here are some of the past records and some interesting facts about previous World Cups:

• The World Cup has only ever been won by teams from South America or Europe
• Most World Cup titles: Brazil with 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002).
• Most World Cup Final Appearances Team: Brazil (22)
• The player to score most goals across all World Cups is Germany’s Miroslav Klose with 16 goals (2002–2014).
• The most goals scored by a player in a single World Cup is 13 goals by the French striker Just Fontaine in 1958
• The most goals scored in a World Cup match is 12 goals when Austria beat Switzerland 7-5 in 1954.
• Most Goals scored in a single tournament: Hungary,  27 goals in 1954
• The largest margin of victory in a World Cup match is 9 when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.
• The player with the most World Cup matches under their belt is German Lothar Matthäus who played in 25 matches between 1982 and 1998.
• The player with the most appearances in World Cup tournaments – Lionel Messi, 26 (5 Tournaments)
• Not including 2026, 80 national teams have played in at least one World Cup finals tournament.
• The highest attendance at a World Cup match was just over 94,000 at the Rose Bowl in 1994 when Brazil played Italy in the final.
• The oldest player to take part in a match was Egyptian Essam El-Hadary who played in 2018 at the age of 45.
• Most Games Won All Time Team – Brazil (114)
• Most times failed to Qualify: Luxembourg (23)
• Longest Gap Between Qualifying: Wales – 64 years (1958–2022)

Where to watch WC26?

There will be extensive coverage due to the high interest in the event. It’s also worth checking betting sites and online streaming services as many of these will also have coverage. You can find full text commentary on FIFA’s official site of every game and there will be widespread radio commentary as well

There are more national broadcasters yet to be confirmed so keep viewing local schedules.