After FIFA’s decision to increase the number of participants at the 2026 World Cup to 48 nations, a lot of questions arose with regards to the qualifying process for that particular tournament. How would the 16 extra places be rationed? Which federations would benefit most? How would this impact the quality of the qualifiers themselves and, ultimately, teams preparations for the finals?
The FIFA World Cup is set to undergo its first expansion since the current format of 32 teams was employed at the 1998 World Cup in France. The 2026 World Cup, as unanimously approved by members of the FIFA Council on Tuesday, will feature 48 teams.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will stick to the 32-team format, meaning that the expanded tournament will likely make its debut in the CONCACAF region come 2026.
FIFA’s plan to expand the World Cup to 48 teams will be given the green light on Tuesday according to reports. The plan, long expounded by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, could yet encounter resistance as qualifying places for the tournament have yet to be explained. Also, nations like Germany directly oppose the plan.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has made it known that he wants to change the World Cup format to allow more teams to compete in the event. As opposed to the current 32 teams, he would like to expand the competition to 48 countries.
It’s been more than 10 years since that infamous night in Berlin, where, in the 110th minute of Zinedine Zidane’s final professional match, the French captain was sent off for battering Marco Materazzi with his bald head.
When Jack Skellington grew tired of organizing Halloween Town’s Halloween celebration in Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, the ghost skeleton proceeded to plot and scheme over how he could take charge of Christmas as well. Unable to understand the spirit of the holiday and personally impulsive to a fault, Jack almost ruined Christmas for everyone.
Beginning with the USWNT’s infamous defeat to Sweden at the quarterfinal stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, proceeding to the Under-17’s inability to advance from the group stage of the U-17 Women’s World Cup and now ending with the U-20’s defeat to North Korea at the sem
Las hermanas gemelas Sabrina y Monica Flores lograron una hazaña notable en sí mismas al jugar en la Copa Mundial Femenina Sub-20 de la FIFA. Lo que es aún más sensacional es el hecho de que Sabrina representa a los Estados Unidos mientras su hermana gemela juega para México. En consecuencia, los dos se enfrentaron en los cuartos de final del torneo.
Jurgen Klinsmann was handed the keys to the USMNT on the backend of an exhilarating 4-2 loss to Mexico in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. The defeat in front of over 93,000 at the Rose Bowl clearly didn’t sit well with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, who used the pretense of throwing away a two-goal lead to sack Bob Bradley and bring in the man he’d long coveted, Klinsmann.