The FIFA council have agreed to change the format of the group phase at the 2026 Men’s World Cup. It will now be made up of twelve groups, each containing four teams.

When the expansion to 48 teams was first confirmed, FIFA announced that there would be sixteen groups of three teams each. Since this format requires one idle team each matchday, this opened the possibility of two teams colluding for a result in the final match that would eliminate the idle team. The format change allows for two simultaneous matches at the end of the group phase.

As a result, the top two teams in each group, plus the eight best third placed teams, will advance to the elimination phase, which will still be made up of five rounds. Teams that reach the last four will therefore play a total of eight matches, including the third place or final match.

The FIFA council also decided to set the date of the 2026 Men’s World Cup final as SUN 19 JUL 2026. A more detailed schedule will be released at a later date.