104-game 2026 World Cup?

[MickyD]

World Cup organisers consider ditching three-team group format for 2026

• Alternative plan for 12 groups of four would result in 104 games
• US, Mexico and Canada World Cup will be first 48-team event

And I thought I'd been wasting my life away watching mere 32-team, 64-game World Cups!

 

[Shadowknight]

Bottom line. More games = more sponsorship.

Hate group games where two teams know if they both draw they both go through.

 

[cheshiregreen]

Now confirmed.

12 groups of 4 leading to teams qualifying for knock out stages.

FIFA World Cup to have 104 matches in 2026

There will be a total of 104 matches in 2026 - up from the 64 played in the Qatar World Cup.

news.sky.com

 

[The Pilgrim]

The 4 team groups make perfect sense, why change what isn't broken and the thought of teams flying from all over the world to North America for 2 games is mad, and thats without getting in to the world of the 2 teams playing the last game knowing exactly what they both need to go through in a 3 team group scenario.

There is such a thing as too much though, 104 games? Potentially 6 games a day! There are going to be some very very poor teams qualifying for the tournament.

 

[cheshiregreen]

Stadium details for 2026 announced.

New Jersey to host 2026 World Cup final - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68200774

 

[Lev Yashin]

It’s always about the money!
To many games and us here in Canada will get Iran v Guatamala
and will be asked to pay $1,000 a ticket for the privilege .
I think I will prefer the beach until the quarter finals when the usual suspects fight it out!

 

[MickyD]

Stadium details for 2026 announced.

New Jersey to host 2026 World Cup final - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68200774

So England will be lifting the trophy on my birthday. Nice timing. They were 11 days late when I watched in 1966, imagining that this England supporter thing was going to be a doddle. Events in León four years later banished that notion for good and all.

 

[Mat]

It’s always about the money!
To many games and us here in Canada will get Iran v Guatamala
and will be asked to pay $1,000 a ticket for the privilege .
I think I will prefer the beach until the quarter finals when the usual suspects fight it out!

Well Canada plays a game in Toronto and 2 in Vancouver, and their knockout games will be in Vancouver as well. Of course they won’t get through as their garbage.

I’ll try to get tickets to a game at BC Place, not every day the World Cup is in your doorstep, though I did move from a 10 minute walk to the stadium.

 

[Mexijan1]

I am in between Mexico City and Guadalajara. MC a bit closer but will try for tickets at either depending on games. Monterrey bit of a trek but will do it if England are there.

 

[X Isle]

It’s always about the money!
To many games and us here in Canada will get Iran v Guatamala
and will be asked to pay $1,000 a ticket for the privilege .
I think I will prefer the beach until the quarter finals when the usual suspects fight it out!

The danger is though the tournament will start so slow and flat with such a blitz of 'nothing' fixtures, there'll be nothing to get the excitement going... by the time the knock-out stages start the zeitgeist will have long gone.

We saw this recently with the more than a month long Rugby World Cup... such an early snorefest that the fans were still asleep by the time it got interesting.

In your example, you'll be enjoying the beach so much while the totally lifeless World Cup is going on in the background... that you'll probably be minded to stay there.

 

[Joe Totale]

The danger is though the tournament will start so slow and flat with such a blitz of 'nothing' fixtures, there'll be nothing to get the excitement going... by the time the knock-out stages start the zeitgeist will have long gone.

We saw this recently with the more than a month long Rugby World Cup... such an early snorefest that the fans were still asleep by the time it got interesting.

In your example, you'll be enjoying the beach so much while the totally lifeless World Cup is going on in the background... that you'll probably be minded to stay there.

I just checked to see if the Cricket world cup was still dragging on...

 

[X Isle]

I just checked to see if the Cricket world cup was still dragging on...

OMG yeah, that was another prime example, probably a better one as it was so dull I completely forgot it

It'll make no odds to them though. When they have their post tournament review meetings it'll all be about overall dollars earned not viewing/attending numbers.

Money matters more.

 

[Joe Totale]

OMG yeah, that was another prime example, probably a better one as it was so dull I completely forgot it

It'll make no odds to them though. When they have their post tournament review meetings it'll all be about overall dollars earned not viewing/attending numbers.

Money matters more.

For most of the cricket administrators nowadays, their main goal appears to be to have India on TV as much as possible.

It wouldn't surprise me if a rule gets forced into future tournaments where a knocked out team can be voted back into a tournament by the fans. I wonder who has the most fans...