The FIFA Council revised the 2026 World Cup group stage structure to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three teams, bringing the total number of matches up to 104 from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar..
A nation will need to play eight games, up from the seven required since 1974, to win a FIFA World Cup.
A fresh set of 32 teams will begin the knockout stage, with the top two teams in each group and the top eight third-place teams moving on. As the tournament went from 24 teams to 32 teams in 1998, third-place teams were no longer eligible for advancement.
The new format will result in 104 matches, up from 80 in the original 2026 format and double the 52 matches at the World Cup held in the United States in 1994.
It will also be an increase from the 64 matches played at each tournament from 1998 through 2022. More tickets to sell and more content for television broadcasters to provide translates to more money for FIFA.
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