Who will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup?


The United 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It is the first Men’s World Cup to feature more than one host nation since Korea/Japan in 2002 and the first in the history of the competition to feature three.

Expanded format

The United States are scheduled to host the majority of the matches in the new expanded format.

They will host 60 games in total, with Mexico and Canada each due to hold 10.

This competition will see the list of participants jump from 32 to 48.

Former Germany manager Joachim Low is one of many to have criticised the move. "World Cups and European Championships should feature the best teams," he said.

"When you keep increasing the number of teams, you dilute the quality. In my opinion, from a sporting perspective, the tournament is perfect with 32 teams.

Whist he told Germany’s Die Welt am Sonntag that he "understands absolutely" that the expansion would be beneficial "for the smaller nations who can make an impression on to the big football stage through it,” he warned that the trade-off in player welfare and burnout needs to be factored in.

Quality will suffer

“The sporting and mental burden on the players has already reached its limit,” he said.

 "We have to be aware that in the long-run the quality will suffer. We should not overdo it.”

The opening phase will start with 16 groups of three teams. This too has attracted criticism.

FIFA's chief technical officer Marco van Basten has suggested that draws may be prevented during the group stage by the use of penalty shootouts or an alternative 'run up' shootout.

"Shootouts are spectacular for the viewers and they are interesting for the players," Van Basten told the German outlet Sport Bild. "

"A (traditional) penalty is over for him after a second, but he has several options in a (run-up) shootout. He can dribble, shoot, wait how the goalie reacts."

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which hosted the 1994 World Cup final, is one of 21 proposed US stadiums being considered for the tournament. The MetLife Stadium will replace the Giants Stadium in New Jersey and the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore is one of a number of new builds that could feature.

The FIFA Council is still to decide which hosts - if any -will receive automatic qualification.

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