World Cup 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup

[Zidane98]

China are bad but they're not THAT bad. San Marino would probably beat Taiwan tbh.

I remember us playing them with a team full of U23 / A League players back in 2013 and beating them 8-0 hahaha

 

[Bomberboyokay]

I only just noticed that CONCACAF has more places than CONEMBOL. How is that possible?

CONCACAF has many more member associations (41) than CONMEBOL (10).

 

[Zidane98]

CONCACAF has a many more member associations (41) than CONMEBOL (10).

Yes but apart from 3 teams they are all s**t.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Yes but apart from 3 teams they are all s**t.

Sorry Craig Foster.

 

[Zidane98]

Sorry Craig Foster.

Might as well give Oceania the same amount of qualification spots as CONEMBOL does. Perhaps more as Oceania has a 11 members to CONEMBOL's 10.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

If you want to be obtuse, sure.

 

[Zidane98]

If you want to be obtuse, sure.

I'm not the one advocating allocation of world cup spots based on the amount of members in a confederation.

CONCACAF has 3 teams good enough to compete at a WC finals (US / Mexico / Costa Rica) and 2 more competitive teams (Canada / Honduras).

Most of the rest are insignificant nations football wise who are simply not competitive in international football and very unlikely to ever be so.

All 10 CONEMBOL teams are good enough to play at a WC. There is no way there should be more CONCACAF teams at a WC.

 

[Fryer Tuck]

I'm not the one advocating allocation of world cup spots based on the amount of members in a confederation.

CONCACAF has 3 teams good enough to compete at a WC finals (US / Mexico / Costa Rica) and 2 more competitive teams (Canada / Honduras).

Most of the rest are insignificant nations football wise who are simply not competitive in international football and very unlikely to ever be so.

All 10 CONEMBOL teams are good enough to play at a WC. There is no way there should be more CONCACAF teams at a WC.

Canada's not even a Top 10 nation of North America. They're that bad.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Panama are a better example of a more competitive CONCACAF nation.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

I'm not the one advocating allocation of world cup spots based on the amount of members in a confederation.

No, you're the one advocating giving everybody in CONMEBOL a free pass to the World Cup at the expense of all the other confederations. A proposal you know would never fly.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

So if my understanding is correct, the format is:

• 48 teams.
• 16 groups of 3 teams. Teams play each other once and top 2 progress.
• Leaving 32 teams who then get divided into 8 groups of 4 - ie the more traditional tournament format takes over?

I can see how it definitely appeals to smaller nations who get close but can't quite make the WC (when it's a 32 team format). It does seem like its all about the money - especially if trying to make it more accessible for developing countries like China and India.

The biggest issue I have will probably how they allocate the extra spots. Europe, South America and even Africa probably are worthy of getting more qualifiers but for Asia and North & Central America seemingly getting big increases in the number of spots screams of pandering to those member nations rather than rewarding them on footballing merit.

Also, if Oceania gets a token spot, that suggests the Confederation will be here to stay.

 

[Van_Dyke]

Leaving 32 teams who then get divided into 8 groups of 4 - ie the more traditional tournament format takes over?

It's knockout after the group stage. There's a round of 32.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

It's knockout after the group stage. There's a round of 32.

Ah, that makes more sense, article I read must have been a bit confused lol. Was thinking they would need to expand the WC squad sizes to cater for extra group games!

 

[Fryer Tuck]

So if my understanding is correct, the format is:

• 48 teams.
• 16 groups of 3 teams. Teams play each other once and top 2 progress.
• Leaving 32 teams who then get divided into 8 groups of 4 - ie the more traditional tournament format takes over?

I can see how it definitely appeals to smaller nations who get close but can't quite make the WC (when it's a 32 team format). It does seem like its all about the money - especially if trying to make it more accessible for developing countries like China and India.

The biggest issue I have will probably how they allocate the extra spots. Europe, South America and even Africa probably are worthy of getting more qualifiers but for Asia and North & Central America seemingly getting big increases in the number of spots screams of pandering to those member nations rather than rewarding them on footballing merit.

Also, if Oceania gets a token spot, that suggests the Confederation will be here to stay.

Just for your referance, you already know that top 2 go through to a 32 team knock-out, here are the spot allocations:

View attachment 326794

Africa, Asia, and NA the big winners from all this, getting virtually double their spots, while SA and Europe sees little gained.

The Round of 32 is really where the extra games are coming from. Hosting requirements are expected to be the same, so honest don't have to worry about any extra stadiums for more games.

 

[red+black]

The 2026 host will be announced this month and it’s almost certain to be the joint bid from USA, Mexico and Canada. I haven’t seen any mention of which country if any will be granted automatic qualification. As we know, the USA don’t always qualify for the World Cup!

 

[Forward Press]

The 2026 host will be announced this month and it’s almost certain to be the joint bid from USA, Mexico and Canada. I haven’t seen any mention of which country if any will be granted automatic qualification. As we know, the USA don’t always qualify for the World Cup!

Of course all three will get automatic qualification. Japan and South Korea got it for 2002 so I don't see why a World Cup that now has 50% more teams would have a problem fitting 50% more automatically qualified teams.

 

[Fryer Tuck]

Of course all three will get automatic qualification. Japan and South Korea got it for 2002 so I don't see why a World Cup that now has 50% more teams would have a problem fitting 50% more automatically qualified teams.

So in theory, a Benelux bid should have Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg all qualify for the World Cup?

 

[Forward Press]

So in theory, a Benelux bid should have Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg all qualify for the World Cup?

If it's successful, sure.

 

[Donnie Darko]

FIFA trying their best to ruin the standard of their flagship tournament. The expanded euros was weak and teams played for draws..

 

[red+black]

The 2050 FIFA World Cup, officially known as Europe 2050, will have all European countries granted direct access.

The 128 countries will compete in a straight knockout tournament.

 

[Stevi_Tigers]

turks should be happy they might actually qualify now

 

[ioppolo]

I can't believe I only just found out it's 16 groups of 3. What the actual *? I automatically assumed it'd be 12 groups of 4. Silly me.

 

[red+black]

^ group of 4 = 3 matches per team, 6 per group. 8 groups of 4 = 48 R1 matches

group of 3 = 2 matches per team, 3 per group. 16 groups of 3 = 48 R1 matches

But with a new round of 32, 32 teams will still pay at least 3 matches. The extra 16 teams will only play 2 matches. Will make it harder to progress with a R1 loss. Then again, a team could progress on GD with a loss and a draw.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

The 2026 host will be announced this month and it’s almost certain to be the joint bid from USA, Mexico and Canada. I haven’t seen any mention of which country if any will be granted automatic qualification. As we know, the USA don’t always qualify for the World Cup!

Of course all three will get automatic qualification. Japan and South Korea got it for 2002 so I don't see why a World Cup that now has 50% more teams would have a problem fitting 50% more automatically qualified teams.

America will win the World Cup and visit President Sanders at the White House.

 

[typeclub]

Don't know why everyone hates more teams in the World Cup, current setup is stale. Three tier tournament and less qualifying matches sounds good. More banana skins for big teams, like England, is bretty good.