The next World Cup is when? Information on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico
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The FIFA World Cup 2022 is arrived, with 32 countries competing in Qatar for the renowned title. After that competition is over, all eyes will be on the subsequent FIFA World Cup, which is slated to take place in the summer of 2026.
Since its debut in 1930, the FIFA
World Cup has been staged on a regular basis with the exception of World War
II. The 22nd World Cup in history will take place in Qatar in 2022.
After the 2022 competition, the
World Cup will undergo significant modifications, thus after the competition in
Qatar is over, the 2026 edition will be eagerly awaited.
The upcoming FIFA World Cup is when?
Since the FIFA World Cup has
historically been conducted every four years, the following competition will
take place in 2026.
The USA, Canada, and Mexico will
host the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Since Japan and South Korea jointly hosted in
2002, this will be the first World Cup to be held there.
FIFA will increase the field
first from the present 32 teams to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup, which will mark
the most recent enlargement.
FIFA has also considered staging
the World Cup over two years, but this has not yet been put into action, in
part because of a sizable amount of opposition.
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When do the 2026 World Cup qualifying rounds begin?
There is currently no formal information available on the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier process. According to FIFA, all three of the 2026 World Cup hosts—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—will automatically qualify for the competition. This follows World Cup custom.
For years, this was thought to be
the case, as indicated by the 2026 United bid packet, and FIFA eventually
confirmed it in August 2022 during a trip to Guatemala by Gianni Infantino.
Infantino announced that CONCACAF
will receive six automatic bids towards the 2026 World Cup, three of which
would go to the host nation and three of which would come from qualification.
The extended intercontinental qualifying round will provide slots to two more
CONCACAF teams, bringing the total number of CONCACAF nations eligible for the
2026 World Cup to eight. The most CONCACAF countries to have ever qualified for
a single World Cup is now four; they did it in 2006, 2014, as well as 2022.
Regional World Cup qualifying for 2026
While some confederations have
decided on formats, none have set deadlines for the 2026 World Cup qualifying.
AFC World Cup 2026 qualification
At the 2026 World Cup, the Asian
Confederation will also have eight qualifying berths and an additional spot
inside the intercontinental playoffs.
There will be five qualifying
rounds for the 2026 AFC World Cup. Three groups of six teams each will give
six qualifying positions for the third round, one to each group's champion and
runner-up.
The 4th round, which consists of
two sets of 3 teams each, will be played by the three and four finishers. Two
spots will be given away in this round, one for each group champion. A playoff
game between the group runners-up will decide who will compete in the
intercontinental qualifying round.
CAF World Cup qualifying for 2026
The confederation that gains the
greatest benefit from World Cup enlargement, Africa, will have 9 qualifying
berths for the 2026 tournament, more than doubling its participation from the 2022 tournament. Africa will now have a representative in the
intercontinental playoff, something they did not do under the previous World
Cup qualification system.
The CAF 2026 World Cup
qualification structure has not yet received official word.
World Cup 2026 qualifying for CONCACAF
The North American confederation
would hold two more spots in the intercontinental playoffs in addition to six
qualifying sites for the 2026 World Cup. The three hosts, the United States,
Canada, and Mexico, will be among the six automatic qualifiers, FIFA said in
late August 2022.
Whether CONCACAF World Cup
qualification will operate is not yet apparent. It's probable that the
qualifying process will resemble that of the 2022 World Cup, with an octagonal
final round utilized to determine qualifiers.
Additionally, even though their
spots in the World Cup are already secured, it's probable that the hosts the USA,
Canada, and Mexico may take part in World Cup qualification as a formality.
This would accomplish two goals: first, it would permit the three eligible
hosts to participate in continental competitions that would let them play
competitive games throughout the cycle; second, it would preserve the
competition's sporting integrity without disqualifying the top three federation
members from qualifying.
CONMEBOL's World Cup 2026 selection process
Six qualifiers and one player for
the intercontinental playoffs will represent South America in the 2026 World
Cup.
The same round-robin structure
that CONMEBOL has used for previous cycles will be used, pitting all South
American countries against one another both at home and away.
UEFA World Cup 2026 qualification
The number of qualifying nations
from Europe for the 2026 World Cup has increased from the 13 that it had under
the 32-team format.
The structure of UEFA qualifying
again for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has not yet been announced.
Has a World Cup ever taken place in the United States, Canada, or Mexico?
Canada has never hosted a FIFA
World Cup, but the United States and Mexico have both held one on their own
before.
Mexico hosted the World Cup.
Two World Cup finals have taken
place in Mexico: the first in 1970, when Brazil won their third World Cup, and
the second in 1986 when Argentina claimed the championship. The final was held
in Estadio Azteca in each of those World Cup competitions.
Brazil won its fourth World Cup
victory in 1994 when the tournament was hosted by the United States. The 1994
World Cup final was hosted at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, despite
Pasadena not being chosen as the venue for games in 2026.
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The site of the 2026 World Cup championship
It is yet unknown where the 2026 FIFA World Cup final will take place. FIFA released a list of the 16 stadiums that would host World Cup games in June 2026. The World Cup final would also be played at one of these 16 stadiums.
Only three stadiums, MetLife
Stadium outside of New York City, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, and AT&T
Stadium in Dallas, Texas, are seen to be candidates to host the championship
game. The 1994 World Cup final took place in Los Angeles, but the Rose Bowl was
not chosen as the location for the 2026 World Cup.
