The headline change
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada, was the first edition of the tournament played with 48 teams instead of the 32-team format that had been used since 1998. It was the biggest structural change to the World Cup in decades, and it reshaped almost every part of how the tournament was organised.
Why expand at all
More teams at the World Cup means more countries — and their fans — get a genuine World Cup experience rather than watching qualifying campaigns end in near misses. It also spreads the tournament's commercial and broadcasting reach into markets that historically had little direct stake in the event, which was central to the case FIFA made for expansion.
The new group structure
A 48-team field does not divide neatly the way 32 teams did into eight groups of four. The expanded format used smaller groups with more of them, followed by an additional knockout round before the tournament narrowed down to the traditional round of 16. This meant more matches overall, and a longer path through the group stage before the knockout rounds most fans consider the "real" World Cup begins.
Longer tournament, more matches
With more teams and an extra knockout round, the 2026 World Cup ran longer and featured significantly more matches than previous editions. For host nations, that meant more matchdays across more stadiums; for fans, it meant more group-stage football but also a longer wait before the tournament reached its business end.
Did it work
Whether the expanded format improved the tournament is genuinely contested. Supporters point to more countries getting World Cup experience and more matches for fans to watch. Critics point to a longer, sometimes diluted group stage before the tournament's quality visibly sharpens in the knockout rounds. Both views were part of the conversation throughout the 2026 tournament, right up to Spain's extra-time win over Argentina in the final.
