Photo by Neidy Gutierrez / SOC Images.
Leading up to the World Cup we have given you dates to look out for and comprehensive guides for local businesses, transit options, how local communities are reacting and even an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the life of Alex Lasry, the current CEO of the FIFA World Cup 26 ™ Host Committee.
Now if you are new to soccer or a die hard fan that needs a refresher, you’re in the right place.
The FIFA World Cup has been around for 95 years with its first iteration in 1930 hosted by Uruguay. The host nation ended up defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final match of the Cup.
Since that day, the tournament has evolved and turned into a global spectacle where countries from all over the world compete.
Now, as the United States, Mexico and Canada prepare for their turn at hosting the tournament, this leaves room for newcomers to the sport and wondering how it all works from qualifying and to the big match.
How Teams Qualify
Qualifying rounds begin a year after the latest World Cup, with each participating continent allocated a certain number of placements. These continents also have their own confederations that go as follows:
- AFC (Asia) – eight direct placements and one playoff spot
- CAF (Africa) -nine placements and one playoff spot
- Concacaf (North and Central America) – three direct slots are given, including three host slots and two playoff spots
- Conmebol (South America) – six available slots and one playoff spot
- OFC (Oceania) – one direct spot and one playoff spot
- UEFA (Europe) – 16 placements, making it the most available
Each confederation also has their own formats that are approved by FIFA™ to select who will be participating:
- League format – Each team plays each other twice, once home and away
- Round Robin format – Each team in a group plays each team once
- Knock out format – Each team in a round plays two legs, one home and away, where the team with the most goals win the series
- A Single leg knock out format and tournament held in participating or neutral territory
Then They Move Onto: Group Stage
Once the teams have been selected for the tournament, drawings are then conducted to see which teams will be in which groups from A to L.
This coming World Cup, which will run from June 11 to July 19, has expanded to 48 teams from the original 32 teams in past World Cups.
These groups may change with recent news of Iran wanting to pull out of the World Cup due to the on-going war with the United States. Some solutions have been drawn up as Iran has been pushing to have their games played outside of Mexico and the U.S. but no response from FIFA at the time of this writing.
Groups A to L goes as follows:
- Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, UEFA Playoff D
- Group B: Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, UEFA Playoff A
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
- Group D: United States , Paraguay, Australia, UEFA Playoff C
- Group E: Germany, Curacao , Ivory Coast, Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands, Japan, UEFA Playoff B,Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
- Group H: Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
- Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Fifa Playoff spot
- Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
- Group K: Portugal, Fifa Playoff, Uzbekistan, Colombia
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
To read the full recap of playoff placement results, click here.
Each group has four teams that will play each other once. The top two teams from each group will then move onto the “knockout stage” along with the best eight third -place teams also advancing.
The Knockout Stage
The fixtures will already be selected with each winner of the groups facing the runner-ups of another group or will face third-place finishers of a different group. As these matches are pre-determined, the only undecided ones would be for the third-place teams.
From then on, the games will follow with a winner-takes-all format. Games will either go to overtime or result in penalties until a team is crowned the winner.
The knockout stage will run from June 28 to July 18, being a bronze match in which whoever wins will win third place in the tournament.
The final match of the tournament will be on July 19 at Metlife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ is being regarded as one of the largest tournaments in the cup’s history, setting the stage for the future of the game.
Next up, we’ll be talking about local fan culture, how to get to the games and immerse yourself with what Hudson County, New Jersey has to offer.
If you want us to cover a specific topic related to the FIFA World Cup™, Tristan Benitez may be reached at [email protected].
