Now it’s official: The 2026 World Cup will feature a record 104 matches thanks to an expanded format with 48 participating teams, FIFA announced Tuesday ahead of its congress in Kigali, Rwanda.

12 groups of 4 teams at the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 competition, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will feature 48 teams for the first time. The final will be held on July 19.

In the new format, there will be 12 groups of 4 teams each. A proposal for 16 groups of 3 teams was rejected due to concerns about possible match-fixing.

The original plan called for a total of 80 matches, but the decision to increase the number of matches to 104 was approved by the FIFA council at a meeting on Tuesday.

Traditionally, the top two teams from each group advance to the Round of 16, but 2026 will also see the top eight third-placed teams advance to the Round of 16 playoffs.

“The FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the format of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The revised format reduces the risk of collusion and ensures that all teams play at least three matches, while ensuring a balanced rest period between participating teams.” This is stated in the FIFA statement.

Know:

• At the World Cup in Qatar, which gathered 32 teams, 64 matches were played in 29 days.

• The last time Mexico (1986) and the United States (1994) hosted the FIFA World Cup, there were only 24 teams.

• Since the 1998 edition, 32 teams have participated in the World Cup, which were divided into 8 groups of 4 teams, and the finalists played 7 matches each. The teams that reach the final act of the 2026 draw will now play a total of 8 matches.

• FIFA has said that clubs will have to release players for the World Cup from 25 May 2026 if they fail to reach a major final (such as the Champions League). In this situation, clubs will have until May 30 to allow players to join the national teams.