The 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games due to the expanded format with 48 teams taking part. Football's global governing body FIFA announced the big changes on Tuesday after its Congress in Kigali, Rwanda.

What is happening?

The 2026 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will be the first edition of the quadrennial tournament where 48 teams are taking part. There were 32 teams in Qatar last year with a total of 64 matches over 29 days. 

The last time Mexico (1986) and the U.S. (1994) hosted a World Cup, there were only 24 teams. The tournament schedule has been extended to take place from June 8 to July 19 when the final is held.

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What has changed about the format?

The new format will stick to drawing four teams in a group after a proposal for a three-team group was rejected over fears of collusion. It will start with 12 groups of four teams in a change from the original planned format of 16 groups of three.

The original plan for the 2026 edition had a total of 80 matches but the decision to increase the number of games to 104 has now been approved. Traditionally the top two teams from each group advance to the last 16, but the 2026 World Cup will also have the eight best third-placed teams moving into the knockout round of 32.

The tournament has had 32 teams since the 1998 edition, with eight groups of four and the finalists playing seven games each. But teams reaching the final in 2026 will now play eight matches.

What is FIFA saying?

"The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams," FIFA said.

Some critics have described the new tournament will be a 'marathon' and suggesting player burn-out will be a major issue.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in December the governing body was thinking about a format change after the group stages in Qatar included some exciting final games.

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