The world governing body of football, FIFA has announced a switch in the format for the expanded 2026 World Cup back to four-team groups.
The 2026 edition set to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada was due to feature 16 groups of three teams each because of an increase in the number of teams from 32 to 48 but the success of the four-team format at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar caused the governing body to reconsider.
The move expands the competition from its projected 80 matches to 104, including a new round-of-32 stage.
FIFA said the top two teams as well as the eight best third-placed teams would progress to the last 32.
According to world football’s governing body, the revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams.
The move was approved at FIFA’s council meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
The four-team group format, with the top two going through to the knockout stages, has been in use since the men’s World Cup expanded to 32 teams in 1998.
The new round-of-32 stage means teams will have to play eight matches to win the tournament, compared to seven as seen at the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA approved a men’s international match calendar from 2025-2030 with the new calendar putting the FIFA World Cup 2026 final on Sunday, 19 July 2026.
FIFA also added that the mandatory date for which clubs must release players for the tournament will start on 25 May 2026, following the last official club match on 24 May 2026 and that exemptions may apply to the final matches of confederation club competitions until 30 May 2026 subject to FIFA approval.
The women’s international match calendar keeps its six international windows per year and includes the women’s Olympic football tournament, which will take place from 25 July to 10 August 2024.