World Cup formats, explained

In one lineSince 2026 the men’s World Cup has 48 teams and 104 matches, since 2025 the Club World Cup has been a 32-club tournament held every four years, and the 2030 World Cup will be played on three continents.

The World Cup from 2026

The FIFA World Cup is the men’s national-team championship, organised by FIFA. For 2026 it grew from 32 teams to 48.

FIFA’s Council decided the expansion unanimously on 10 January 2017. The first plan was 16 groups of three. In March 2023 the Council changed it to 12 groups of four. FIFA said this reduces the risk of collusion (two teams settling for a result that suits both), guarantees every team at least three matches and balances rest time between games.

The 2026 tournament was hosted by three countries for the first time: Canada, Mexico and the United States. It used 16 host cities: 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada. It ran from 11 June 2026, with the opening match at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, to the final on 19 July 2026 at New York New Jersey Stadium.

How the 48-team format works

• Group stage. Twelve groups of four. Every team plays the other three in its group once: a round-robin.
• Who goes through. The top two in each group, plus the eight best third-placed teams. That makes 32.
• Round of 32. A new knockout round, followed by the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

The 104 matches break down as 72 in the group stage and 32 in the knockout rounds.

The first 48-team final

Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final on 19 July 2026. It was Spain’s second World Cup title.

The Club World Cup from 2025

The FIFA Club World Cup brings together clubs from all six confederations, FIFA’s continental bodies. In March 2023 FIFA’s Council approved a new 32-club version, to be played every four years from June 2025.

The first 32-club edition was held in the United States from 14 June to 13 July 2025, in 12 stadiums.

• Who played. Europe had 12 clubs and South America six. Asia, Africa, and North and Central America and the Caribbean had four each. Oceania had one, and the host country one.
• How clubs qualified. Places were based on each confederation’s main club competition from 2021 to 2024: its winners in that period qualified, and further places were filled from a confederation ranking. A country could have at most two clubs, with an exception where a country had several continental champions in that period.
• Group stage. Eight groups of four, playing each other once. No group could contain two clubs from the same confederation, except Europe, which had two clubs in four of the groups.
• Knockout stage. The top two in each group reached the round of 16, then single-match knockout rounds to the final.
• Total. 63 matches: 48 in the groups and 15 in the knockout rounds.

Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the 2025 final, played on 13 July 2025 in New York New Jersey.

2030: the centenary World Cup

On 11 December 2024, an Extraordinary FIFA Congress appointed Morocco, Portugal and Spain as hosts of the 2030 World Cup. The decision was taken by acclamation of FIFA’s 211 member associations.

The 2030 tournament also marks 100 years since the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930. To celebrate, three centenary matches will be played, one each in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The president of CONMEBOL, South America’s confederation, has said the first of them will be played at the Estadio Centenario in Uruguay, where the 1930 final was held.

That means the 2030 World Cup will be played across three continents: Africa, Europe and South America. The same Congress appointed Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup.

Where to go next

• How the Champions League works
• The 17 Laws in plain English
• VAR, explained