The World Cup is the largest sporting event worldwide, with the 2022 World Cup having around 5 billion viewers, and the final match alone had an astounding 1.42 billion viewers! This year, the FIFA World Cup is about to be the most expansive and ambitious tournament in history. Going to be co-hosted by three North American countries, the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico, this year’s tournament will bring the games to a record-breaking number of cities and fans.  

One of the most significant changes for the 2026 World Cup is the expansion of the tournament to include 48 teams instead of the original 32-team format that has been in place since 1998. This expansion will change the game, offering more countries the chance to compete on the world’s biggest stage. Even though it will increase the complexity of scheduling and statistics, it also lets countries gain experience and potentially cause upsets. The new format will see 12 groups of 4 teams, with the top two from each group along with the 8 best third-placed teams to advance to a knockout stage of 32. This structure will maintain a balance, ensure a significant number of games and keep the tournament’s duration quick but still making sure that the best matches are saved for last.  

The geographical spread of the host cities is another big characteristic of this World Cup. From Vancouver in the West to Mexico City in the South and Toronto in the East, the tournament will cross large distances, the tournament will be brought to many areas of North America. Cities such as Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, and Atlanta are expected to host many matches, drawing on their sporting arenas and large populations. 

The competition this year will also be very fierce. The usual powerhouses, such as Argentina, France, and England will be looking to assert their dominance, but the expanded playing field means that more teams will be able to challenge their supremacy. This World Cup may be the last for many outstandingly talented players such as Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin de Bruyne, Virgil Van Dijk, and more importantly, Cristiano Ronaldo. People all over the internet have been saying that if Ronaldo can win a world cup, he will be a contester for the greatest player in history; better than Messi, but because Messi has won a World Cup and Ronaldo hasn’t yet deserved the honor of being the GOAT of soccer. 

According to Fifawatch, the projected winner of the World Cup is Argentina, with a solid roster of Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister. Very closely behind is France, with an insane attacking squad of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Desire Doue, Rayan Cherki, and Marcus Thuram. Third on the list is England, with a motley of young talent such as Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and Declan Rice alongside their captain Harry Kane. Placed number 4 in the rankings is Brazil, with stars such as Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Endrick, Estevao, and Rodrygo. These are all just predictions, however, and we shall soon see who will win the World Cup this summer.