What will the 2022 FIFA World Cup  look like?

In 2026, North America will host the largest FIFA World Cup in history. The World Cup will include 48 teams, three host nations, a record amount of stadiums, and the USA, Canada, and Mexico will pull it all to reality.

48 teams compete in the 2026 World Cup, including the three host nations and 45 nations who qualified. It marks the end of the traditional structure, which included 32 teams divided into eight groups, with the top two teams advancing to the ideal 16-team knockout round.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament will last longer and feature more nations, matches, and kickoff times.

The World Cup has typically lasted 32 days under the present structure (though it was compressed into 29 days in Qatar), but if FIFA increases the number of games from the current 64 to a massive 104, the event will need to run at least 35 days.

16 locations, spanning three nations and three time zones, will host the 2026 World Cup: CT (6): Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City PT (4): Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles ET (6): Toronto, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami.

With so many more matches to be contested, it's expected that games will be spread out across the day to optimize the timezones. FIFA won't arrange any 2 games to be played at the similar time, except from the final group matchups.