Everything You Need to Know About the World Cup

What It Covers

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across 16 U.S. cities plus Mexico and Canada, features 48 teams for the first time, marking the largest tournament in history. NYT global soccer correspondent Tarek Panja breaks down the expanded format, key contenders, dark horse nations, and the controversy over unprecedented ticket prices.

Key Questions Answered

• •Tournament Scale: The 2026 World Cup expands from 32 to 48 teams, requiring 72 group-stage games played across 24 consecutive days at four games per day. Twelve groups of four teams compete across 16 host cities spanning Los Angeles to Boston, with the final held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
• •Ticket Pricing: FIFA introduced dynamic pricing for the first time in World Cup history, producing group-stage tickets reaching $800–$1,000 and category-one final tickets at $10,000 — roughly ten times Qatar 2022 prices. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have initiated legal proceedings against FIFA over pricing category changes post-purchase.
• •Favorites to Watch: Spain, led by teenage Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, enters as reigning European champion and top contender. France fields depth beyond Kylian Mbappé, including Desiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé. England and Portugal round out the European favorites, while Argentina is considered vulnerable despite Messi's presence due to an aging squad.
• •Dark Horses: Three teams merit attention as potential overperformers: the U.S. benefits from home-crowd advantage and Christian Pulisic's form; Ecuador brings South American climate adaptability; Norway carries Erling Haaland, who can single-handedly generate goals. Brazil, largely absent from pre-tournament conversation, also carries upset potential given historical pedigree.
• •New Entrants: First-time or long-absent qualifiers include Curaçao (population 160,000, drawing Dutch-born players with ancestral ties), Jordan, Iraq, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of Congo — whose last qualification came under the name Zaire. Their inclusion reflects FIFA's deliberate expansion strategy tied to Gianni Infantino's membership-based reelection incentives.