In 2026, the World Cup will be hosted by North America. The soccer matches will take place all across North America, including the Bay Area, where a few group-stage matches will be played at Levi’s Stadium. This will be a unique World Cup because of the new expansion of the FIFA ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association) format. In 2026, 48 teams will play which is 16 more than have played in the past and each team will play one extra match, raising the total number of games from 64 to 108. This expansion will allow for smaller countries to participate, an opportunity they haven’t had in the past. 

The World Cup follows a bracket-style progression with 6 total rounds. The group stage, round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the finals. The countries that participate are put into groups, where the top two teams from each group move on to the next round. In the previous World Cup in 2022, the United States was in a group with England, Iran, and Wales. The United States won 1 game and tied the other two, putting them in second place behind England. England and the United States then moved on to the round of 16 where the United States lost to the Netherlands.

Currently, teams who want to compete are playing in qualifier tournaments such as CONMEBOL. The United States, Canada, and Mexico have automatically qualified because they are hosting the World Cup, which will take place from June 11th to July 19th, 2026. 

This World Cup is expected to be a massive event. In 2022, 1.5 billion people watched the World Cup final. Many Stuart Hall students are excited to watch the upcoming World Cup. “It’s gonna be spectacular and I can’t wait to watch it,” says Junior Henry Pluim.

Henry’s enthusiasm will be shared with many other fans around the world as this mega event will bring fans from all over the world together to share their love for the sport.