The World Cup group stage format for 2026 was changed to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three by FIFA’s Council on Tuesday, increasing the total to 104 matches from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
NEW FORMAT
To win a World Cup, a nation must play eight games, up from the seven since 1974. The top two teams in each group and the top eight third-place teams will advance to a new round of 32 that starts the knockout phase. Advancement for third-place teams was eliminated in 1998 when the tournament expanded from 24 teams to 32.
MORE GAMES
This story is from the March 18, 2023 edition of Cricket Today.
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This story is from the March 18, 2023 edition of Cricket Today.
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