Preview of the World Cup in 2026

Despite all the criticism of the World Cup in Qatar, the event was a complete success for FIFA. New record revenues give the organization a perfect starting point for preparing for the next event. The 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada is set to be even bigger and more successful. Many details have already been finalized, even if soccer fans will have to wait almost four years for the tournament. Reputable online casinos like Casino777 can help to shorten the waiting time for the next World Cup as the perfect in-between diversion.

World Cup 2026 will take place in three countries

Qatar 2022 will go down in history as the most "compact" World Cup - but everything will be very different at the next World Cup in 2026. While last time all the matches were played within an hour's drive of each other, the next final tournament will be played in three different countries - Canada, the USA and Mexico.

It will also be a bigger competition with 16 additional teams and consequently more matches. Nevertheless, the tournament will still be played within five weeks from mid-June 2026. The question rightly arises as to how much traveling players and fans will have to do. The tournament is spread across eleven cities in the USA, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

Given the significant number of flights required to transport teams, fans, media and FIFA officials through all three countries, sustainability will be a major issue. This was already a major point of criticism in Qatar, where it was met with much disapproval around the world. The travel time there was very manageable, but Qatar had to go to great lengths to cool down all the stadiums.

More teams to attract more spectators

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, is expanding the next World Cup finals from 32 to 48 teams. That also means more money from sponsorship, merchandising, ticket sales and broadcasting rights. FIFA expects revenues of $11 billion over the four-year cycle to December 2026. The next World Cup is expected to attract particularly large crowds as the popularity of soccer continues to grow in North America.

FIFA itself expects up to 5.5 million fans to attend the next tournament. This would surpass the record of 3.6 million spectators set in 1994, when an average of 68,000 spectators attended each match. The governing body announced that a large part of the additional revenue will go to the development of football around the world, including projects to promote women's football.

The expanded format will also increase the number of participating teams from all the world's football associations. Oceania will be guaranteed a place at the finals, and at least 17 teams from Africa and Asia will participate in 2026. In addition, a total of six teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean will be included, including Canada, Mexico and the USA as hosts.

How will the tournament run with 48 teams?

FIFA will not make a final decision until later in 2023. The original favored option was to form 16 groups of three teams each. Each team would play two group matches instead of three, and the top two teams would advance to a new round of the best 32.

The big disadvantage, however, could be that the two teams playing last could relatively easily force a result with their own advantage in mind. Football fans remember, for example, the 1982 tournament when West Germany and Austria advanced at the expense of Algeria in the so-called "Shame of Gijon." In that match, both teams refused to play an attacking game.

That's why everything currently indicates that there will be 12 groups of four in the end, which FIFA will divide into two halves (like two European Championships in one round). This would mean more matches, as the organization would like, without significantly increasing the match load for the individual teams. So fans can already look forward to more exciting matches at the 2026 World Cup.