World Cup 2026: Fifa switches back to four-team group format

Argentina played 7 matches connected their mode to winning the 2022 World Cup, but the victor of the adjacent tourney volition play a crippled more

Fifa has switched the format for the expanded 2026 World Cup backmost to four-team groups.

But the occurrence of the four-team format astatine the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar caused the governing assemblage to reconsider.

The determination expands the contention from its projected 80 matches to 104, including a caller round-of-32 stage.

Fifa said the apical 2 and 8 champion third-placed teams would advancement to the past 32.

"The revised format mitigates the hazard of collusion and ensures that each the teams play a minimum of 3 matches, portion providing balanced remainder clip betwixt competing teams," said satellite football's governing body.

The determination was approved astatine Fifa's assembly gathering successful Rwanda.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said successful December that the governing assemblage was considering a format alteration aft the radical stages successful Qatar included immoderate breathtaking last games.

The four-team radical format, with the apical 2 going done to the knockout stages, has been utilized since the men's World Cup expanded to 32 teams successful 1998.

The caller round-of-32 signifier means teams volition person to play 8 matches to scope the final, compared to 7 astatine the 2022 tournament.

Fifa approved a men's lucifer calendar from 2025-2030 and said that "based connected the caller calendar, the Fifa World Cup 2026 last volition beryllium played connected Sunday, 19 July 2026".

It added that the "mandatory" for which clubs indispensable merchandise players for the tourney volition commencement "on 25 May 2026, pursuing the past authoritative nine lucifer connected 24 May 2026" and that "exemptions whitethorn use to the last matches of confederation nine competitions until 30 May 2026 taxable to Fifa approval".

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