1938, with Italy, was the first time the World Cup champion automatically had a ticket to the next tournament, until this rule was abolished at the 2010 World Cup. Therefore, after winning the 2022 World Cup, Argentina still has to
In the Qatar 2022 final at Lusail Stadium on December 18, Argentina and France drew 3-3 after 120 minutes and had to decide the winner or loser in a penalty shootout.
Thanks to that, Argentina won the World Cup for the third time, after 1978 and 1986, surpassing France’s achievement of winning the Gold Cup twice in 1998 and 2018. The teams with the most achievements are Italy (champion in 1934,
Messi dribbles in front of Mbappe in the 2022 World Cup final at Lusail Stadium, Doha, Qatar on December 18.
In early 2017, FIFA passed a decision to increase the 2026 World Cup participation from 32 to 48 teams.
The South American qualifiers will still take place in a round-robin format, with two legs – home, away – scoring points for ranking, which has been applied since the 1998 World Cup qualifiers.
In addition to the top 6 teams, the team ranked seventh in the South American qualifying round will participate in the intercontinental play-off round.
The 2026 World Cup is co-hosted across 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Mexico will be the first country to host the World Cup three times, after 1970 and 1986. The US has the second time hosting the World Cup after 1994, and the 2026 World Cup is the first time Canada has this honor.
The total number of matches at the 2026 World Cup will increase from 64 to 80, but one team will still play seven matches at most, like the 32-team version.
