NEW World Cup 2026 Format Confirmed

[@SlayingSuperNerdX]

ok so, basically instead of 16x3 we are doing 12x4

[@kyufuyuvbvbllymjnncuhuhbuh7538]

Yep

[@Lucoski77]

Fortunately , now I'm excited

[@rumblebird9888]

Yeah they fixed it yay

[@ZekeorSomething]

Pretty much

[@magicalhikari5859]

It’s also basically a doubled version of the Euros

[@CoolDown-il9qs]

FIFA:There will be now 48 teams,now you qualify! Italy:no,thank you

[@tennyedits7443]

​@@stone_slab_guywhen?

[@GigaSane]

​@@stone_slab_guyQualifiers just started blud wdym💀💀

[@vibremaster239]

​@@GigaSanenot for Europeans

[@akirinha123]

LOL 😂

[@legolover3138]

The new format is so much better than the 3 team format. It feels so weird with 3 teams in a group.

[@MortanAMrk]

Teams also have lesser ways to cheat where as with 3 it is far easier proven by gijon

[@T.Chopper_]

3 teams in 1 group is better. because 4 teams in 1 group is useless. the third knocks out anyway

[@Chaotic_Fragment]

@@T.Chopper_but with 3 teams matches can’t be played at the same time which lets teams purposefully lose a match to help the other team qualify.

[@vibremaster239]

​@@MortanAMrkjust ask Algeria

[@evilbarbiedoll9195]

​@@T.Chopper_ Algeria: yes

[@Xiveric10]

C-Canada U-United states M-Mexico Our alliance will be powerful

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

France : We shall see about that

[@rollingrizzo1291]

We are the most powerful financial alliance so it’s already set.

[@PorterStats]

And that’s in order from North to South as well so it’s not just a random order

[@justinsama5083]

F-france U-united Arab Emirates C-china K-korea We'll see about that

[@Ismail101978]

​@@justinsama5083😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@kennymichaelalanya7134]

39 days of football is great news for me. The more football the better

[@gdplasman1616]

YEAHHHH LETS GOO MASSIVE WIN FOR ME SPECIFICALLY But fr, i was really disappointed in the idea of 3 team groups because it would take so much interest and hype out of the group stage with it just being a few matches and "dont get last". The group stage was honestly often my favourite part of World Cups aa well so I'm really glad they decided to go back on it and hey we may have teams like South Korea to thank for that, lol.

[@astralmax5163]

it still is dont get last

[@eliasreed-miguel]

@@astralmax5163 yeah but some third places will get eliminated

[@astralmax5163]

@@eliasreed-miguel only 4

[@huykim4663]

Besides the drama within each group, we may experience hoping teams in later matches not scoring more, especially when your team is currently sitting at 8th-best among the 3rd-placed teams.

[@capybara6921]

There isn't really that final matchday drama though when 3 out of the 4 teams will likely progress out of the group stage

[@larryneufeld]

Excited to see how it’ll all work out!

[@osiris7402]

If something isn't broken, don't fix it

[@rocketje_bs]

Can always be better

[@randomperson1071]

No need to water down the games

[@VanWolf]

Finally someone talking sense

[@vmofficial9]

its called expanding, not fixing

[@intheplums]

I can't deny though, expanding the world's greatest tournament is always welcome in my book

[@etiennedeleage6804]

This is epic Now making it to the Round of 16 will be more impressive then ever before Especially for teams who’ve never made it or have made it just a few times

[@afonsoferreira2652]

It will be the opposite actually :) it means that inside the normal 90minutes you can lose twice and draw once to reach to the 16r, meaning that it has no meaning reaching the 16. Most teams passing the group stage promotes mediocrity

[@etiennedeleage6804]

Well your right Ig it will be more fun tho for other countries to have the opportunity to have longer runs in the tournament rather then just be in the group stages. Especially for small countries who haven’t done to much throughout WC history. People from those countries will surely be happy to support their team. Plus it would be more fun to see your country be in at least 4 or more matches and accept the possibility you could get knocked out or be ones who knock out another team

[@imperuim6879]

@@afonsoferreira2652no because you will have to face another team in ro32

[@rumblebird9888]

Its actually the quarterfinals that would be more impressive now

[@dejanbeep6293]

​@@afonsoferreira2652 no round of 16 isn't just passing it. Round of 16 requires winning round of 32. Now that there are more teams competing it'll be more special if you become one of the top 16

[@pokeyourmom7070]

Wayyy better like this,oh this World Cup is gonna be sooo crazy

[@moderatemapper9440]

no it won't be, the 3rd place thing makes it annoying

[@pokeyourmom7070]

@@moderatemapper9440 it’s like the euros,maybe less intense but then England can’t blunder it as easily and more underdogs have chances

[@YourFavouriteDraugr]

@@pokeyourmom7070 you like drama, not sports.

[@pokeyourmom7070]

@@YourFavouriteDraugr more intense games,more fun for the viewer

[@lperea21]

​@@pokeyourmom7070 Portugal loves the new format

[@imnotdegamer364]

I was so scared of the idea of groups with 3 teams. So glad we still have the 4 team groups!

[@Chichi_14]

They should do 12 groups of 4 teams, but the top two teams in each group go though to the knockout stage. The best 8 teams that finished 1st automatically go through to the round of 16, and the other 16 teams have to play each other based on seeding in the first round to see who will be in the round of 16

[@Ash-kn4uu]

So, it’s kinda like the Champions League’s new format?

[@Chichi_14]

@@Ash-kn4uu yeah but better

[@MAVJ]

Glad they came to their senses and kept them as 4-man groups

[@CubicCreeper7914]

Scrapping the 3 team groups was the greatest idea ever

[@h2eroskoryosaryakaraaryani777]

Now it should be an 64 teams then 128 then all team world cup for an whole year. It will kill the excitement of qualifying for an world cup.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Stop overreacting

[@matej9368]

Nah... 48 is good. You have 210 countries and territories and on World Cup there will be only 48 that means 160+ countries will not qualify

[@souvikgoswami746]

​@@matej9368 although we have 210 teams but quality of each team is not the same . Non Euro sudamerica nations reached Only twice out of 88 semi spots in 22 WC . Once Marocco and another is ref assisted Korea , none ever reached the final , so the level is still different for each nation. My nation India ranked 100 can't beat 75 or 80 ranked Asian teams leave alone any Euro or South Americans.

[@loganleger6642]

Maybe do a video on which teams would have qualified or will likely qualify for world cup under the expanded format or do a simulator of expanded format

[@Marouane0]

The round of 32 would mean the end of Dark horses stories such as Morocco , Costa Rica...

[@soumyadeepmukherjee]

why?

[@akis_mikon00]

Not necessarily

[@svokxz6435]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY HAVE DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@pini1076]

I hope they go back to 32 teams when they see How South America and Europe is slapping all other nations.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

That doesn’t always happen you know

[@pini1076]

@@samplingmastersxlr8660 I’ll take Morocco as an exception.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

@@pini1076 there’s more examples then that

[@pini1076]

@@samplingmastersxlr8660 “that dosent - always - happend”. No not ALWAYS, but on the MAJORITY of matches yes, South American and European nations wins.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

@@pini1076 majority? Yeah not really Even if they win it’s not impressive and that stat is changing especially with how teams have improved lately

[@pals_312]

I prefer the 32 teams format, not this

[@marblERkin]

Well now 16 new nations get to join and this is very beneficial for those countries. It's not the World Cup when only 32 countries compete. 11 spots have opened up for nations not in Europe or South America and nations like in OCF can finally compete. The people in those 11 countries will be very happy to be able to join and their nations' economies will benefit. Overall better for uniting the world and I hope that if they can, FIFA can expand even more some time in the future before 2100

[@laltanchhana316]

​@@marblERkin32 team wc is still a wc, there's qualifier. Every one has a chance. If you don't qualify you're to blame. Fifa benefits the most from this, it's a jump from 64 match 104! Almost double number of matches meaning almost number of income, the prize pool of last wc was around or less than 1% of total income

[@marblERkin]

I guess so... but then again, qualifiers are no where near the same level of popularity as the actual world cup. And yes I agree that the amount of matches played is way too much, they should scrap the round of 32. Maybe go straight to a 16. After all, three matches and a group elimination is good enough for one of the 16 new countries I was talking about

[@yeetgru543]

this is definitely the system i prefer for the 48 team world cup. also maybe the euros can expand and be like what the world cup was with 32 teams tbf that would be 60% of the countries on the continent but it would certainly be fun

[@mionellessi3086]

48 is too much. The amount of matches will grow from 64 to 108 I think. More than 40 matches more.

[@justmoonwithamustache]

I remember before 1998,the third place team could qualify

[@roy_mezz-awake2470]

This is great, I was scared the format would go to groups of 3 (or god forbid 6) but this is perfect!

[@Vict0r1984]

It's criminal Europe isn't getting more than 16 berths! At least 18, if not 20, should go to Europe in this format, as Asia and North America do not have enough good teams for 8 or 9 spots! NA has 3-4 good sides, and Asia has about 6 of them - some of those are really good, like Japan, but anyone else from NA and Asia, like Uzbekistan, Trinidad or Vietnam, would get decimated 15-0 by the likes of France, whereas far more decent European and South American sides will still miss the tournament... Happy for Africa though, and for Oceania finally getting one direct spot - good for them, as Africa especially really deserved more spots!

[@NSLUploader]

No fuck off with that. UEFA and CONMEBOL literally have all the WCs. Other areas need a chance, and if we wanted more European teams we'd watch the EUROs.

[@Vict0r1984]

@@NSLUploader I am European and I watched both the African cup of nations and Asian cup this year. There are a couple decent teams in Asia (I'd say Japan, South Korea, Saudi, Iran and maybe Iraq, Australia and Jordan) but most are worse than even teams which never qualify the the Euros, like Armenia or Lithuania. FAR worse actually! 5 or 6 spots each for Asia and North America is more than enough (and gives extra chances for new teams to debut at the tournament) - Conmebol, UEFA and Afcon is where most of the good football is, so kindly fuck off yourself by wanting close to amateur teams in the world cup! It will be extremely boring to watch France-Honduras 12-0 and Argentina-Vietnam 13-0 every 4 years, when we could be having actually competitive teams there instead... 🙄 You have to be mentally challenged to actually want 8 or 9 North American teams in the world cup - there's a reason nobody watches or cares about the Gold cup, North Americans included...

[@vxllfire]

I mean it's not that bad of an expansion since teams just get an extra game to play. Also more money to FIFA, and more entertainment for FANS. It depends on the player's perspective tho. It's a win-win-neutral to me.

[@captainfalconmain6576]

Fifa = money lover

[@joelhungerford8388]

Groups of 4 is better. I dont like the top 3rd place teams because it disadvantages those in harder groups

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Every group is hard

[@latto_SSM]

Can’t wait for 2026 of how a monstrosity the World Cup would be nothing beats 2022

[@amilsawadoogu3590]

Your doing a great service thank you man

[@chcucivtxzclccucifudohzfu6766]

12x4 is way better than 16x3 for the mentioned reasons. But let’s not forget it’s FIFA deciding it so I guess the main deciding factor was the additional 24 group stage games

[@capybara6921]

They've changed it for the "final matchday" drama but when 3 out of 4 teams qualify from the groups then there really isn't much at stake there

[@rumblebird9888]

Not all teams that get third will advance, only the best performing do

[@Mendoza1414]

Notice how no one liked your comment

[@SlayingSuperNerdX]

@@Mendoza1414 i did

[@huykim4663]

Watching other 3rd-place contenders play is still full of emotions.

[@TheVoyager3301]

EDIT: I did not pay enough attention to the video, so i thought that all 3rd qualifies for the round of 32. KZbin did not let me delete the comment

[@PLKartofel]

Not every third place qualifies, only 8 best ones

[@rumblebird9888]

Third place rule where the best performing 3rd place teams in a group advances . This is used in some tournaments that have 24 teams like the Euros, afcon, and afc

[@soumyadeepmukherjee]

​@@PLKartofelbut how can they decide the best 8?

[@PLKartofel]

By points of all 3rd places. 4 lowest points don't qualify, 8 above them do@@soumyadeepmukherjee

[@ADK_7]

​@@soumyadeepmukherjee eight 3rd placed teams who have more points If some of them tie then the the teams with better goal difference if that also tie then the rankings ( Just like they do for the euros since 2016 ) I don't know the exact criteria for the WC but only guessed it considering how they do it in the Euros

[@noskill4510]

Way better like that, allthough I don't think there need to be that many teams...

[@averagejoe5016]

This World Cup will hopefully be the best World Cup. More teams, slightly more games, more chances for underdogs to cause big upsets, and even more drama. Squad depth will be even more important.

[@Trendkanal]

Almost no need for qualifiers anymore…

[@bocz4317]

104 games is too many for me,of course I don't have to watch all but it's the world cup so I want to watch as many games as possible.Last year's world cup was already so tiring to watch so many games. Idk just my opinion tho maybe we'll get used to it and it'll be actually good

[@AvalancheSports4519]

With 16 new teams I like this better It is more world spread

[@apugokingdavid]

The 5th row at the beginning of the short💯👌🏾

[@Item1948]

What a dumb idea. You don't need to change something that is already perfect, 32 teams is the best format a world cup can have

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

It was flawed

[@infernoknight9054]

Now my team can go to semi now

[@ulvifejzullahu.1973]

which is your team

[@infernoknight9054]

Ghana

[@ulvifejzullahu.1973]

@@infernoknight9054 cool

[@astralmax5163]

@@infernoknight9054and suarez wont be there

[@Syrup1]

@@astralmax5163 good riddance

[@Rifi77]

48 teams are way too many

[@lawrenceporter8389]

This format means 70% of all matches in the tournament will be played to get to the best 32 teams something the previous format achieved with zero matches. I think they can scrap the round of 32. Straight from groups to last 16. 12 group winners plus four best 2nd place teams. It would add more jeopardy to the group stage.

[@franka5928]

If your country doesn’t make this World Cup that’s just sad. Like even the mediocre teams have a chance to make it now

[@hosniadnan2623]

Way too much man..32 teams was perfect

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Not really, let’s see how this goes before judging

[@SHOULI]

​@@samplingmastersxlr8660even 32 teams was a little too much 💀

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

@@SHOULI it’s a World Cup so the world must be represented

[@SHOULI]

@@samplingmastersxlr8660 there is something called world cup qualifiers, if we allow all the countries in world qualify for world cup, world cup qualifiers will lose its meaning

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

@@SHOULI you do know that they are over 200 fifa members rights so not everyone is getting in so stop overreacting

[@MaryamAhmed-wh6qo]

Will I even be alive in 2026 😂😂

[@ADK_7]

How old are you ? Well my question doesn't make any sense because anything can happen at any moment ... 💀

[@yoyoyouyeofficial]

​@@ADK_7NAH, YOU JINXED IT💀

[@caliboy09]

Watch these be the real groups

[@ding9916]

Glad their sticking to 4 team groups. Just seems better imo.

[@__-dk8fh]

Don’t mind this now, groups of 4 are perfect

[@NanobanaKinako]

There's probably gonna be playoffs to determine the best 8 3rd place teams either into a league of 12 teams of 2 groups of 6 teams. Of course these playoffs ideas are not home and away games.

[@jayvonnoelsmith8445]

I can't wait for the 2026 world cup

[@jaikumarjadhav6575]

I think, it's good, more exciting more rivalry..

[@altynbekoff6593]

Great opportunity for Italy, Norway, Uzbekistan, Mali, Colombia, Kazakhstan

[@SlayingSuperNerdX]

Italy had an oppertunity and blew it

[@altynbekoff6593]

@@SlayingSuperNerdX shout-out to North Macedonia

[@rumblebird9888]

Don’t forget Chile

[@yamcha111]

ugh too many games

[@tails0389]

You don’t have to watch them all, format is better honestly 😁

[@captainfalconmain6576]

@@tails0389sure

[@nevadaballmapping3772]

Bro you don’t need to watch all the games. 😂

[@susamogus12345]

what if they went with the old format but only let the first place team move on to the knockouts

[@bradschneider82]

Hell no. That would make it way too exclusive. Football is a world sport. Allowing just the best of the best is a great way to make sure football dies. The expansion is for money but it's also necessary. However the UCL changes they plan on making are beyond retarded. I hope for everyone's sake they continue with the current UCL format of 32 teams with 8 groups and 4 teams in each.

[@jorvicvasquezreyes2414]

I think that is not going to work very well because you need to travel to 3 countries and it cost a lot of money

[@captainfalconmain6576]

That why 32 tesm world cup is better

[@marcosgutierrez9100]

I'm curious how teams will be seeded in the round of 32.

[@tim..indeed]

This means that no team is already out going into matchday 3. That's a huge upgrade.

[@captainfalconmain6576]

That’s right

[@poestarbory966]

I love Your transition. How it end fit just into how it began. Making it seem seamless.

[@iliasmamalakis777]

This will be the best world cup ever. USA has the best stadiums in the world, it will be in summer, more competitive with more teams, a lot of countries will be happy for qualifying and potentially ronaldo, messi and neymar might still play their last ever world cup and also we can see players like haaland, vinicius jr, pedri, leao and mbappe in their prime years

[@Johanbanglades]

idk if better but nice

[@MrClaude-km5uc]

incredible loop bro!

[@BoundInChains]

The real world cup - each team plays every FIFA affiliated team. 😂

[@Six-nationalities-edits]

Canada having flashbacks 💀

[@JohnnysCafe_]

This is a much better foremat, more teams means more competition, more chances for all the smaller ranked teams.

[@soberski555]

I wonder who will Play on round of 32 against third place teams

[@Mendoza1414]

Probably the teams that performed the best in the group stage?

[@sven1966]

This is stupid it makes the group stage pointless. And just prolongs the tournament with useless matches

[@matej9368]

It is not pointless... All 4th teams in group are eliminated 4 teams who were 3rd gets eliminated. More matches, goals bigger attendance, good teams coming back Italy, Colombia

[@Rullino32]

That's great, I hope Italy qualifies for the world cup since they're fun to watch.

[@monstergamer1647]

Wait will Dubai be on the World Cup

[@susStew000]

Dubia isn't a country,is a state/province of United Arab Emirates

[@NotSo8]

Over a month of World Cup,

[@DAFUQBOOM2.2906]

Me France

[@a.m626]

Opening game Vatican vs Macao

[@SlayingSuperNerdX]

unfortunaltey i don't think the Vatican have a team

[@a.m626]

@@SlayingSuperNerdX with fifa mafia Everything is possible

[@SlayingSuperNerdX]

@@a.m626 is that why they always choose money grabs

[@matej9368]

​@@a.m626bro there will not be bad teams in WC 2026

[@rockeiro1916]

Amazing news, this format is way better than the other proposal

[@mschanandlerbongofficial]

man i cant wait

[@captainfalconmain6576]

Me neither

[@user-hm4kv9wz4f]

I love the shirt I am also a croita fan there going to win the next World Cup

[@user-mt6nk2lo2e]

When is draw for Uefa zone?thank you

[@captainfalconmain6576]

For qualifiers ?

[@user-mt6nk2lo2e]

@@captainfalconmain6576 yes bro, for qualifiers

[@captainfalconmain6576]

@@user-mt6nk2lo2ewell your not gonna see the draw probably not until the December 2024

[@matej9368]

​@@captainfalconmain6576when is draw for EURO 2024

[@captainfalconmain6576]

@@matej9368this December

[@ShadowBladez713]

Is it true that current world champions (Argentina) needs to play to qualify? Before it was the current champions and host that automatically qualify.

[@jibrilleo]

Since 2006 they scrapped the Champions automatic qualification.

[@ShadowBladez713]

Kinda sucks. But i guess the teams stays in shape if they play but risk injuries.

[@allinonelegend1472]

It is fine format but. Think it will be better if they make 8 groups of 6 and top four advances to round of 32 knockout and so on.

[@thakshilabandararatnayake2366]

I can't wait

[@puneet.chahal18]

India 🇮🇳

[@we6rc]

Never happening sadly

[@SockHiggins]

Lets go congo

[@EmmanuelAdenuga-co1yb]

The logo:☠️💀☠️💀

[@footballhighlights7472]

Thank you for putting Morocco as an example ❤🇲🇦

[@bubblesxd]

This format is way better than 16 groups 3 teams

[@ricardohurtado5646]

Interesting and exciting format really. This tournament could go in many directions really. I imagine a lot of burnout and confusion because of the new rules and requirements, but it’s exciting to see new nations getting a chance to compete. Maybe we will see a whole new champion rise out of this tournament.

[@akira6960]

How about the top team automatically qualifies for ro16 whereas the 2nd nd 3rd would have to play to get to ro16 i mean it would make more sense to qualify fr first

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Not fair

[@andresospina6596]

imagine having to play one game more than your rival just because he got lucky in the group stage with India, Qatar and Uzbekistan while your national team got Argentina, Uruguay and england.

[@AbelMartinez-tx9xh]

Am gonna miss so many games😭😭😭

[@dillpickel925]

39 days one survivor

[@FIFA-FUT]

The players only getting 1 month of summer break 💀💀

[@neutral1087]

If 3 teams qualify from group of 4 then the kO Stage will be of 36 teams? Then 18? Then 9? Which doesn't make sense 😂

[@thedlsbrothers]

It's gonna be crazy 🔥 3 yrs to go!

[@VanRP484]

Lest go Paraguay 🇵🇾

[@LightningWing11]

Should’ve never toyed with the idea of 3 team groups in the first place

[@jmrs_]

I'm actually a fan of the new expansion, an extra week or so isn't that bad, plus some more countries will get the chance to participate, but Italy will somehow still flop it

[@user-xn1uh6cz2w]

Gracias 🇧🇷

[@camerawowo275]

Bro I just want the old format to stay. Unnecessary change.

[@blackyellow111]

32 was the perfect number..but at least they didn't make that stupid 3teams groups.. !

[@thechaosmaster9934]

Everything is great, the only thing left is for fifa is to change their logo

[@naninani3493]

I'm excited and interested

[@molonlave2193]

I live in Houston and I can't wait to go to the World Cup.

[@blurmannw8362]

Atleast India can qualify😂😂😂

[@captainfalconmain6576]

😭

[@we6rc]

India is sadly not there

[@dylanosborn4740]

Dam that was a nice loop