Why FIFA changed the format for the 2026 World Cup

Published March 14, 2023 2:16 PM

By The Associated Press

The World Cup group stage format for 2026 was changed to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three teams by FIFA’s Council on Tuesday, increasing the total to 104 matches from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar. That means to win a World Cup, a nation will have to play eight games, up from the seven in place since 1974. The top two teams in each group and the top eight third-place teams will advance to a new round of 32 that starts the knockout phase.

Article Topic Follows: AP National Sports

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