World Cup 2026, the new formula. The calendar of national teams is also changing

The FIFA Council met before the 73rd Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, approved the new format of the 2026 World Cup and the Club World Cup, but also marked the international calendar “by merging the windows for the national teams in September and October Here are the main decisions in detail.

WORLD CUP

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The next World Cup will take place in 2026 and will be hosted by three nations: the United States, Canada and Mexico. It will conclude with the final on 19 July. There will be 109 matches in total. The players will have to reach their national teams on May 25, the date by which the national championships and European cups must be concluded (the latter can get a … postponement until the 30th with the ok of Fifa). The participating national teams will be 48 and will be divided into 12 groups of 4 formations each. The top two in each group and the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the round. In doing so, the round of 32 will be introduced, while until now the knockout phase started from the round of 16. To lift the cup, therefore, it will be necessary to play 8 matches and not 7. ‘other”.

WINDOWS

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From 2026 onwards, the calendar of men’s international matches will be different from the current one: there will be a window for national teams in March (9 days; 2 matches), one in June (9 days, 2 matches which will be two friendlies in the years in which there will be World or European Championships), one in September/early October (16 days, four matches), one in November (9 days, two matches). In this way, the needs of the clubs will be met which saw their members leave, also with the direction of South America, both in September and in October to play matches with their respective national teams. The detailed calendar of men’s international matches 2025-2030 will be published in the coming days.