2026 World Cup: how the first 48-team, three-nation, 104-match tournament went

The 2026 World Cup was the 23rd edition of the tournament and the first to change almost everything at once: three host nations instead of one, 48 teams instead of 32, and 104 matches instead of 64. It ran for roughly 39 days across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It ended on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey: Spain 1-0 Argentina, Ferran Torres scoring at 106 minutes in extra time. A second world title for Spain.

The 16 host cities

The United States hosted 11 of the 16 venues: New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Kansas City. Mexico contributed Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey; Canada, Toronto and Vancouver.

• Opening match: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
• Final: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA), on 19 July 2026
• Combined capacity across host venues: more than 1.1 million seats

How the new format worked

With 48 teams, FIFA adopted 12 groups of four. The top two from each group advanced along with the eight best third-placed sides — 32 teams in the knockout stage. That created a round that had never existed before: the round of 32, an extra elimination stage absent from 32-team World Cups.

In practice the format delivered both what was feared and what was hoped for. Several groups were settled with a round to spare, because finishing third rarely meant going home. In exchange, the round of 32 produced ties a 32-team tournament would never have staged: Cape Verde against Argentina, DR Congo against England, Haiti in a group with Brazil.

"This will be the biggest and most diverse World Cup ever held. We're bringing football to people who have never been so close to it."

— Gianni Infantino, FIFA president

How the tournament ended

Spain won every knockout tie they played. They beat Austria in the round of 32, Portugal in the round of 16, Belgium in the quarter-finals and France in the semi-final before edging Argentina in the decider. It was Spain's second world title, 16 years after the first.

Argentina reached the final through Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland and England, and finished as runners-up. The third-place match between France and England produced the most improbable scoreline of the tournament: 6-4 to the English.

And Brazil?

Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil were drawn in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland. They drew 1-1 with the Moroccans on opening night, beat Haiti and Scotland 3-0 each and went through. In the round of 32 they beat Japan 2-1. In the round of 16 they lost 2-1 to Norway and were out.

It was a campaign cut short by injuries suffered before a ball was kicked: Rodrygo, Éder Militão and Estêvão all missed the squad, and Wesley was withdrawn after it was named. A sixth title is still waiting.

Where to find our coverage

Guriball has a report on every knockout match of the 2026 World Cup, with the match details, line-ups, statistics and the sources consulted listed at the end of each piece — alongside the historic games from earlier tournaments.