'It is heaven-sent' – 2026 World Cup sees big changes

If you liked the Qatar World Cup because of its compact nature, the next tournament is set to get much, much bigger in more ways than one.

While Qatar has almost been the first World Cup in one city, with all but one of the venues effectively in the capital, Doha, or its suburbs, the 2026 World Cup will be the first to be held in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada.

But that isn't the only novelty. The big change is that the World Cup is increasing from 32 teams to a record 48.

The shock results seen in Qatar, such as Saudi Arabia beating Argentina and Cameroon defeating Brazil, could become more common with more countries in the mix.

"We are going to see more surprises coming from Africa and Asia in the [2026] tournament," Jürgen Klinsmann, head of FIFA's technical group in Qatar, recently told reporters.

Back to June and July

It will also mean that the 2026 tournament will be longer than Qatar 2022, which has been packed into a relatively short four-week period given it comes in the middle of most domestic seasons.

The 2026 edition will revert back to the normal June and July dates after the unique November and December hosting of this tournament, but the exact length of the next version has yet to be decided.

FIFA and organizers have announced the hosts cities from the three countries, but at the moment they don't know how many games there will be.

Originally the plan was to split the 48 — which do not go as neatly mathematically as the perfect 32 — into 16 groups of three teams, with the top two going through to a new round of 32.

But FIFA is now worried that too many final group games might end up as dead rubbers, and there are also fears of a risk of match-fixing if two sides meet both needing a draw.

"After this World Cup and success of groups of four...I think we need to revisit or at least rediscuss the format," FIFA President Gianni Infantino told a news conference.

A plan for 12 groups of four teams has been proposed, with some third-placed teams going through. Media reports say there is even an idea to split the 2026 World Cup into two 24-team halves, each featuring six groups of four teams, with the winner of each "half" playing in the final.

It is all quite radical but of course the possible real reason for considering an increase in the number of group matches is more money in the coffers of FIFA and organizers. But an extra round of group games and the extra round of 32 would make the 2026 tournament at least a week longer, and leave players exhausted. A decision is expected next year.

One issue that has already been decided is the allocation of 2026 slots for the continental federations. Everyone sees an increase, so expect to see some debutants at the tournament while the likes of Erling Haaland's Norway, Victor Wanyama's Kenya and China have better chances of qualifying, with an almost certain spot going to New Zealand.

"For us as Africans it is heaven-sent," said Sunday Oliseh, a former Nigeria World Cup and Borussia Dortmund player.

"We are a continent of 54 nations. We have always thought we should be more represented. The more times you play lotto, the more chances you have of winning. I don't think the quality is going to suffer, on the contrary."

The last and only World Cup so far to have had more than one host nation was Japan and South Korea in 2002.

More politics than football

There were so many rows between the two about who hosted which matches and other issues that former FIFA President Sepp Blatter vowed that "never again" would there be a joint World Cup.

Yet, here we are with not just two but three host countries. The US is the main host in 2026 and could easily have held a 48-team World Cup on its own.

The reasons for sharing some of the games with Canada and Mexico have more to do with politics than football.

However it pans out, the tournament will be hugely different to Qatar 2022 and largely a step into the unknown.