World Cup Growing to 48 Countries With a New Tournament Format

The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest ever, with 48 countries instead of 32. The tournament is changing how it organizes teams: instead of eight groups with four teams each, there will be 16 groups with three teams each. The two best teams from each group move on to the knockout stage, plus eight runners-up. This is the first major format change since 1998.