<div class="at-above-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.metro.us/why-fifa-changed-the-format-for-the-2026-world-cup/"></div>The World Cup group stage format for 2026 was changed to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three teams by FIFA’s Council on Tuesday, increasing the total to 104 matches from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar. NEW FORMAT To win a World Cup, a nation will have to play eight […]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings above via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings below via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons above via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons below via filter on get_the_excerpt --><div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.metro.us/why-fifa-changed-the-format-for-the-2026-world-cup/"></div><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts below via filter on get_the_excerpt --><div class="at-below-post-recommended addthis_tool" ></div><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on get_the_excerpt -->