Sports

World cup 2026 and what you should know

World cup 2026

World Cup 2026
FIFA officials

Will the world cup 2026 appear interesting as the one played in Qatar 2022?  Historic moments in the 2022 world cup in Qatar will go into the books of history as one of the most enjoyed. All 64 matches took action without any anomaly. Every team had an eye on the cup and eventually, it went to Argentina. The final match was much more interesting with Argentina taking defending champions. Argentina’s early lead in the first half made a lot of fans think it was that easy for them. Last minutes comeback by France to take to a draw of 2-2 surprised many fans. After the extra time, the game still went to a 3-3 draw. Penalty shootouts were the last resort where Argentina won it.

Argentina’s win did not come as a surprise for two reasons. For France to defend that title was not an easy task with the absence of midfielders Pogba and Hernandez. Secondly, Messi was to die with the team to make sure he retires from the world cup with the title resting in their country. He left no chance to score.

Which country will host the world cup 2026 tournament?

Canada, the USA, and Mexico won a joint bid to host the tournament. According to the schedule by FIFA, the event will take place between 8th June 2026 and 3rd July 2026. As a result of joint hosting, the United States will host 60 of the total 80 matches, while Canada and Mexico will host 10 each.

In FIFA’s proposition, 7 matches, 2 rounds of 32 matches, and 1 round of 16 matches will take place in both Canada and Mexico. As a result, the 34 group matches,12 rounds of 32 matches, 6 rounds of 16 matches, all quarter-finals, both semi-finals, a third-place play-off, and a final will take place in the USA.

Although it may change, the world cup 2026 final in North America will take place in New York/New Jersey at the MetLife stadium while Los Angeles will host the opening match.

How many teams will participate in the World cup 2026?

Unlike 2022 and prior years of the world cup, 2026 will have 48 teams participating in the tournament. All the 48 teams will form 16 groups in the groups’ stage with three countries each. The 16 groups are designated A to P. In each group, the top two teams will proceed to the knock-out stage. It will be interesting to see the round of 32 being the knock-out stage. This is historical because it has always been the group of 16.

What are the expected changes in the world cup 2026?

Given these changes, a draw at the end of 90 mins, results to penalty shootouts without going for extra time. However, there will be extra time in the knockout stages of a round of 32 and the subsequent stages. So, the total matches in 2026 will be 80 different from the prior years which have been 64.

All the FIFA countries in the six continental zones will kick-off the qualification process in 2023 and end in 2025. Since defending champions no longer get express tickets to the world cup, they will undergo the process as well.

What will be the remuneration for the teams?

With the changes in the world cup tournaments that have been made by FIFA, there is a possibility of changing the remuneration as well. We are not sure if these changes affect remuneration packages for the teams. We shall update you on key developments of the world cup 2026 from time to time.

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