FIFA World Cup · 2026 edition
FIFA World Cup
The global flagship: senior national teams competing for the world title every four years.
Competition at a glance
- Confederation
- FIFA
- Edition
- 2026 edition
- Teams
- 48
- Host
- United States, Canada and Mexico
- Window
- June - July 2026
- Format
- 48 teams, 12 groups of four, then a knockout bracket
About the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup 2026 edition is an international football tournament contested by 48 national teams, held in United States, Canada and Mexico.
The World Cup is contested by senior men's national teams and is organised by FIFA. The 2026 edition is the first to be played with 48 teams and across three host countries.
Teams qualify through their continental confederation over a three-year cycle, with a small number of places decided by an inter-confederation play-off.
Matches are scheduled in a compact window so that national squads can be assembled from players based around the world for a single tournament period.
Competing national teams
BRA · CONMEBOLBrazil
Five-time world champions and the only nation to appear at every World Cup.
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ARG · CONMEBOLArgentina
Reigning world champions and a Copa America regular, built around a compact midfield.
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FRA · UEFAFrance
Two-time world champions with the deepest player pool in Europe.
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ENG · UEFAEngland
1966 world champions, twice European Championship runners-up in a row.
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ESP · UEFASpain
Possession-first side with four European titles and the 2010 World Cup.
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GER · UEFAGermany
Four-time world champions and the most consistent tournament side in Europe.
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POR · UEFAPortugal
European champions in 2016 with one of the deepest attacking pools in world football.
NED · UEFANetherlands
Three-time World Cup runners-up famous for Total Football and constant reinvention.
ITA · UEFAItaly
Four-time world champions, most recently in 2006, built on defensive craft.
BEL · UEFABelgium
A long-time top-side whose golden generation reached the 2018 semi-finals.
SCO · UEFAScotland
Passionate British side back on the world stage for the first time since 1998.
MAR · CAFMorocco
History makers of Qatar 2022 and the first African side to reach a semi-final.
Format and qualification
The World Cup runs in a four-year cycle. National teams qualify through their confederation - UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC and CONCACAF all run their own qualifying competitions, and the qualified fields meet at a single finals tournament.
At the finals the teams are drawn into groups, play a round-robin group stage, then move into a straight knockout bracket: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. Third place is decided in a play-off the day before the final.
Key dates in the cycle
- Qualifying windows run through the international calendar each season
- Finals draw - teams allocated into groups
- Group stage - three matches per team
- Round of 16 - first knockout round
- Quarter-finals and semi-finals
- Final and third-place play-off
Fixtures and results
Title history
| National team | Titles | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 5 | 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 |
| Germany | 4 | 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014 |
| Italy | 4 | 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006 |
| Argentina | 3 | 1978, 1986, 2022 |
| France | 2 | 1998, 2018 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 1930, 1950 |
| England | 1 | 1966 |
| Spain | 1 | 2010 |
Who enters the tournament
2026 edition is a 48-team tournament, and the field on this page is Brazil, Argentina, France, England, Spain, Germany.
By confederation that is 4 from UEFA, 2 from CONMEBOL. The mix is the point: a tournament that mixes confederations is the only place players from every part of the world meet in the same competitive week, which is why a 2026 edition is worth a whole season of club football to the countries involved. The road to it runs: Qualifying windows run through the international calendar each season.
Scale and reach
FIFA World Cup is the largest international tournament on this site. It is played as 48 teams, 12 groups of four, then a knockout bracket. The 2026 edition runs June - July 2026. The 2026 edition is hosted by United States, Canada and Mexico, which is why a single tournament touches continents that rarely compete against each other outside it.
The record on this page is unambiguous: Brazil lead with 5 titles, 1 clear of Germany in second. The list runs to 8 nations with at least one title, and the gap between first and last on it is 4.