2026 FIFA World Cup expands to 48 teams across US, Canada and Mexico

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first tournament staged in three countries. The competition has been expanded from 32 to 48 national teams, increasing the total matches to 104 and extending the event to about five weeks.

The format now includes twelve groups of four teams, with the top two and the eight best third‑placed sides advancing to a newly introduced round of 16, adding an extra knockout round before the quarter‑finals.

Logistical preparations involve delegations of 70‑100 staff per team and cargo shipments ranging from 3 to 15 tons per squad, covering equipment, medical supplies and even specialty food items. Stadiums have been upgraded with additional antenna arrays to handle heightened mobile demand; Verizon reported roughly 500 TB of data transmitted across all venues, with the final alone generating about 29 TB.

These operational scales underscore the massive coordination required to support the enlarged tournament across three North‑American nations.