FIFA World Cup 2026: Key facts and stats

Published : Thursday, 11 June, 2026 at 6:00 PM Count : 19

The World Cup kicks off Thursday with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, launching a sprawling tournament of 48 teams that will last nearly six weeks.

The extravaganza hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada is the biggest World Cup in history, stretching until the final in New Jersey on July 19.

Here are the key stats of the tournament:

Dates: June 11 – July 19, 2026 (June 12 – July 20 in Bangladesh)

Hosts: United States, Canada, and Mexico; first World Cup hosted by three nations.

Biggest World Cup ever: Expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

Matches: Record 104 games across 16 host cities.

Edition: 23rd FIFA World Cup.

Historic milestone: Mexico becomes the first country to host the World Cup three times (1970, 1986, 2026).

Tournament Format: 12 groups. Group winners and runners-up (24 teams) + 8 best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32. Finalists and semifinalists will play a maximum of 8 matches.

Four nations making their World Cup debut: Curacao, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, Jordan

Nine teams from Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iraq.

Eight teams from Arab nations: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq.

Only nation to appear in every World Cup: Brazil

Most World Cup titles: Brazil (5)

All-time top scorer: Miroslav Klose (16 goals)

Most appearances: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Guillermo Ochoa (6 tournaments each, including 2026)

Most World Cup matches played: Lionel Messi holds the record with 26 matches.

Player and club numbers: 1,248 players from 449 clubs in 71 countries. 357 players have previous World Cup experience; 891 are debutants.

Most players based in: England (200), Germany (109), France (86), Spain (86)

Clubs with most players: Manchester City (19), Bayern Munich (18), Paris Saint-Germain (16), Arsenal (16)

New Rules for 2026

VAR expanded:

Checks wrongly awarded corners.

Reviews second-yellow-card dismissals.

Can review fouls before set pieces.

New red-card offences: Leaving the field in protest. Covering the mouth during confrontations.

Pre-match ceremony: All available players in a team's squad will gather around the centre circle for the national anthems, with extra-large country flag banners on the pitch behind them.

Anti-time-wasting measures: 5-second countdown for throw-ins and goal kicks. Players must leave the field within 10 seconds when substituted.

Injury treatment changes: Outfield players treated on the pitch must stay off for 60 seconds.

Hydration breaks: One 3-minute break in each half.

Prize money: Total prize pool: $655 million (Up from $440 million at the 2022 World Cup).

FP/MI