97-484: The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, when it was not held because of World War II . The World Cup final is the last match of
194-401: A round-robin tournament in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. This means that a total of six matches are played within a group. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within
291-426: A "world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition for nations, at the 1920 Summer Olympics , contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, and won by Belgium . Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928 . Those were also the first two open world championships, as 1924
388-960: A corruption scandal and was therefore ineligible to vote. During the bidding process, 41 cities with 43 existing, fully functional venues with regular tenants (except Montreal) and 2 venues under construction submitted to be part of the bid (3 venues in 3 cities in Mexico; 9 venues in 7 cities in Canada; 38 venues in 34 cities in the United States). A first-round elimination cut nine venues and nine cities. A second-round elimination cut an additional nine venues in six cities, while three venues in three cities ( Chicago , Minneapolis , and Vancouver ) dropped out due to FIFA's unwillingness to discuss financial details. After Montreal dropped out in July 2021 due to lack of provincial funding and support to renovate
485-455: A dozen FIFA officials were made since that time, particularly on 29 May and 3 December. By the end of May 2015, a total of nine FIFA officials and five executives of sports and broadcasting markets had already been charged on corruption. At the time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced he would relinquish his position in February 2016. On 4 June 2015, Chuck Blazer while co-operating with
582-470: A form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament. There have been occasions where
679-526: A formula based on the FIFA World Rankings or performances in recent World Cups, and drawn to separate groups. The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998 , constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation. Each group plays
776-443: A group. Since 1994 , three points have been awarded for a win , one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points). Considering six matches in a group each with three possible outcomes (win, draw, loss), there are 729 (= 3 ) possible final table outcomes for the 40 possible combinations of the four teams' points. However, 14 of the 40 points combinations (or 207 of the 729 possible outcomes) lead to ties between
873-504: A particularly dark cloud because of the 2015 FIFA corruption case, allegations and criminal charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights (rigged bids) for FIFA games, with FIFA officials accused of taking bribes totaling more than $ 150 million over 24 years. In late May, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a 47-count indictment with charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy against 14 people. Arrests of over
970-620: A pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup . The 2002 FIFA World Cup , hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the first tournament with multiple hosts. South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010 . The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978 , and
1067-408: A political matter so why not have more Africans? The competition is to bring all the people of all the world. If you don't give the possibility to participate, they don't improve." In October 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup in 2026. On 10 January 2017, FIFA confirmed the 2026 World Cup will have 48 finalist teams. By May 2015, the games were under
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#17327723659401164-452: A revised format of the 2026 tournament, which features 12 groups of four teams each, with the top 8 third-placed teams joining the group winners and runners-up in a new round of 32. Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The locations were controversial because South America and Europe were by far the two centres of strength in football and travel between them required three weeks by boat. The decision to hold
1261-528: A specific number but instead evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Also for 2026, the FIFA general secretariat, after consultation with the Competitions Committee, had the power to exclude bidders who did not meet the minimum technical requirements to host the competition. In March 2022, Liga MX president Mikel Arriola claimed Mexico's involvement as cohost could have been at risk if the league and
1358-603: A translucent roof and no climate control. The host of the final match — MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey —was announced by FIFA on February 4, 2024. Although there are soccer-specific stadiums in Canada and the United States, the largest dedicated soccer-specific stadium in the U.S., Geodis Park in Nashville , seats 30,000, which falls short of FIFA's minimum of 40,000 (Toronto's BMO Field
1455-456: A women's version, although a FIFA Women's Club World Cup has been proposed. The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is held biannually, including the year before each Women's World Cup. Both tournaments were awarded in a single bidding process on three occasions, with the U-20 tournament serving as a dress rehearsal for the larger competition each time ( 2010 , 2014 and 2018 ). From 1930 to 1970,
1552-729: Is being expanded from 30,000 to 45,500 for this tournament). Stadiums including Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta , Gillette Stadium in Foxborough , and Lumen Field in Seattle are used by National Football League (NFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. Although primarily used for gridiron football , with the American stadiums hosting NFL teams and Canada's hosting the Canadian Football League (CFL), all of
1649-430: Is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final. On 10 January 2017, FIFA approved a new format, the 48-team World Cup (to accommodate more teams), which was to consist of 16 groups of three teams each, with two teams qualifying from each group, to form a round of 32 knockout stage, to be implemented by 2026. On 14 March 2023, FIFA approved
1746-499: Is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy only until the post-match celebration is finished. They are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original immediately afterwards. All members (players, coaches, and managers) of the top three teams receive medals with an insignia of the World Cup Trophy ; winners' (gold), runners-up' (silver), and third-place (bronze). In
1843-424: Is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder. The 2026 FIFA World Cup was chosen to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first time a World Cup has been shared by three host nations. The 2026 tournament will be the biggest World Cup ever held, with 48 teams playing 104 matches. Sixty matches will take place in
1940-449: Is the most prestigious association football competition in the world, as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world. The viewership of the 2018 World Cup was estimated to be 3.57 billion, close to half of the global population, while the engagement with the 2022 World Cup was estimated to be 5 billion, with about 1.5 billion people watching the final match . Seventeen countries have hosted
2037-557: The Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde , but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970 , Brazil 's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by
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#17327723659402134-672: The 1906 Intercalated Games . After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been unsuccessful. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London , football became an official Olympic sport. Planned by The Football Association (FA), England's football governing body,
2231-654: The 1936 Summer Olympics , but was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup. The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 World Cup and all North and South American nations except Brazil and Cuba boycotted the 1938 tournament. Brazil was the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions, which Germany and Brazil sought to host, were cancelled due to World War II . The 1950 World Cup , held in Brazil ,
2328-555: The 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men's World Cup three times. The United States last hosted the men's World Cup in 1994 , whereas it will be Canada's first time hosting or co-hosting the men's tournament. The event will also return to its traditional northern summer schedule after the 2022 edition in Qatar was held in November and December. The competition will also occur during
2425-426: The 2002 edition , fourth-place medals were awarded to hosts South Korea . Before the 1978 tournament, medals were only awarded to the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the final and the third-place match. In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners' medals. Since 2006, winners of the competition are also awarded
2522-546: The 2010 , 2014 and 2018 tournaments. The expansion to 48 teams had already been approved on January 10, 2017, when it was decided that the tournament would include 16 groups of 3 teams, and 80 matches in total, with the top two teams of each group progressing to a round of 32. Under this later-superseded format, the maximum number of games per team would have remained at seven, but each team would have played one fewer group match than before. The tournament still would have been completed within 32 days. The later-superseded format
2619-409: The 2014 and 2018 editions. Each team will still play three group matches. The final matchday at club level for players named in the final squads is May 24, 2026; clubs have to release their players by May 25, with exceptions granted to players participating in continental club competition finals up until May 30. The 56 days of the combined rest, release, and tournament periods remains identical to
2716-543: The 2026 tournament . As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been held since the event's inception in 1930, and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has been won by eight national teams. With five wins, Brazil is the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy , with four titles each; Argentina , with three titles; France and inaugural winner Uruguay , each with two titles; and England and Spain , with one title each. The World Cup
2813-716: The Asian Football Confederation and the Confederation of African Football , two shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL , and a guaranteed place for the Oceania Football Confederation . Platini was clear about why he wanted to expand the World Cup. He said: "[The World Cup is] not based on the quality of the teams because you don't have the best 32 at the World Cup ;... but it's a good compromise. ... It's
2910-743: The Caribbean Football Union 's region a position in the World Cup. In the edition of 25 October 2013 of the FIFA Weekly Blatter wrote that: "From a purely sporting perspective, I would like to see globalisation finally taken seriously, and the African and Asian national associations accorded the status they deserve at the FIFA World Cup. It cannot be that the European and South American confederations lay claim to
3007-513: The FBI and the Swiss authorities admitted that he and the other members of FIFA's then-executive committee were bribed in order to promote the 1998 and 2010 World Cups. On 10 June 2015, Swiss authorities seized computer data from the offices of Sepp Blatter . The same day, FIFA postponed the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in light of the allegations surrounding bribery in the awarding of
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3104-505: The Netherlands and Croatia have played in the final without winning. Only teams from Europe ( UEFA ) and South America ( CONMEBOL ) have ever competed in the final. Argentina defeated France on penalties in the latest final , staged at Qatar's Lusail Stadium in 2022. General Specific FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup , often called the World Cup , is an international association football competition among
3201-490: The OFC a guaranteed berth in the final tournament for the first time: the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first tournament in which all six confederations have at least one guaranteed berth. This will also be the first time since the 2010 edition in which all continents have a team qualified for the World Cup finals. The match schedule, including the venue for the final, was revealed on February 4, 2024, 3:00 p.m. EST , from
3298-598: The Olympic Stadium , Vancouver rejoined the bid as a candidate city in April 2022, bringing the total number to 24 venues, each in its own city or metropolitan area. On June 16, 2022, the sixteen host cities (2 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, 11 in the United States) were announced by FIFA : Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Miami. Eight of
3395-553: The Telemundo Center in Miami . However, only the venues and dates were confirmed for the matches, with no information regarding group assignments. Venue assignments for specific group stage pairings, as well as kick-off times, will be confirmed following the final draw, allowing for more matches to be scheduled at favorable times for global audiences. The geographical regions were updated with Atlanta and Miami moved to
3492-482: The United States semiquincentennial birthday . Argentina is the defending champion , having won its third title in 2022. The general idea of expanding the tournament had been suggested as early as 2013 by then- UEFA president Michel Platini , and also in 2016 by FIFA president Gianni Infantino . Opponents of the proposal argued that the number of games played was already at an unacceptable level, that
3589-694: The first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing. The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these in France was disputed, as the South American countries understood that the location would alternate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the 1938 FIFA World Cup . Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup , to avoid future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began
3686-406: The qualification phase , which takes place over the preceding three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the group stage of the tournament. The competition is scheduled to expand to 48 teams, starting with
3783-453: The 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Then-secretary general Jérôme Valcke stated, "Due to the situation, I think it's nonsense to start any bidding process for the time being." On 28 October 2015, Blatter and FIFA VP Michel Platini, a potential candidate for presidency, were suspended for 90 days; both maintained their innocence in statements made to the news media. On 3 December 2015 two FIFA vice-presidents were arrested on suspicion of bribery in
3880-461: The Azteca is the only stadium in this tournament that was used in the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. Due to FIFA's rules on stadium sponsorships , most of the venues will use alternative names for the duration of the tournament, given here in parentheses. Base camps will be used by the 48 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. In June 2024, FIFA announced
3977-487: The Canadian and American stadiums have been used on numerous occasions for soccer and are also designed to host that sport. Mexico City is the only capital of the three host nations chosen as a venue site, with Ottawa and Washington, D.C. , joining Bonn ( West Germany, 1974 ) and Tokyo ( Japan, 2002 ) as the only capital cities not selected to host World Cup matches. Washington was a host city candidate but, due to
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4074-1085: The Central region with 24 matches, three groups in the Western region, and the rest in the Eastern region with a shared-region group with Canada. Cities were split into three regions: the Western Region (Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles), the Central Region (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City), and the Eastern Region (Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey). On June 13, 2024, FIFA released an updated match schedule, with specific pairings assigned to venues for knockout stage matches. In addition, group stage matches were assigned to specific groups (though match pairings for non-host groups will not be assigned to specific fixtures until after
4171-520: The Monterrey emblem featuring imagery of the Cerro de la Silla mountain, and Toronto featuring the city skyline and CN Tower ). Reaction to the logo from the initial unveiling was largely negative, with many feeling that the design was either unfinished or uncreative compared to the emblems of past FIFA World Cup tournaments. By contrast, United States national team player Jesús Ferreira described
4268-574: The US, including all matches from the quarter-finals onward, while Canada and Mexico will host 10 games each. 2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup , marketed as FIFA World Cup 26 , will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup , the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA . The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and
4365-477: The United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994 . This tournament will be the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32. The United 2026 bid beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow . It will be the first World Cup since 2002 to be hosted by more than one nation. With its past hosting of
4462-487: The World Cup, most recently Qatar , who hosted the 2022 event. The 2026 tournament will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to host games in three World Cups. The world's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England . The first international tournament for nations,
4559-410: The bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974 . The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: "The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory." This new trophy
4656-545: The competition, played by the only two teams remaining in contention, and the result determines which country is declared the world champion. It is a one-off match decided in regulation time. In case of a draw , extra time is used. If scores are then still level, a penalty shoot-out determines the winner, under the rules in force since 1986; prior to that, finals still tied after extra time would have been replayed , though this never proved necessary. The golden goal rule would have applied during extra time in 1998 and 2002, but
4753-448: The competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium , France , Romania , and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In total, 13 nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on 13 July 1930, and were won by France and the United States , who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history
4850-490: The confederation of the host countries ( CONCACAF ). Two of the teams will be seeded based on the World Rankings , and they will play the winners of two knockout games between the four unseeded teams for the two FIFA World Cup berths. The four-game tournament is to be played in one or more of the host countries, and will also be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup. The ratification of slot allocation also gives
4947-434: The confederation of the second-to-last host of the FIFA World Cup in the event that none of the received bids fulfill the strict technical and financial requirements. In March 2017, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that "Europe ( UEFA ) and Asia ( AFC ) are excluded from the bidding following the selection of Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022 respectively." Therefore, the 2026 World Cup could be hosted by one of
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#17327723659405044-517: The continental confederations. Originally, it was set that bids to be host would not be allowed from countries belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments. It was temporarily changed to only prohibit countries belonging to the confederation that hosted the previous World Cup from bidding to host the following tournament, before the rule was changed back to its prior state of two World Cups. The FIFA Council made an exception to potentially grant eligibility to member associations of
5141-776: The eastern region. The opening match was announced to include Mexico, taking place on June 11, 2026, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City . The opening match involving Canada will take place on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto , while the opening game for the U.S. will take place on the same day at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood . Each host nation was scheduled to play its three matches in the group stage within its own country. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas , will host
5238-626: The emblem as "beautiful". On February 12, 2015, FIFA renewed the U.S. and Canadian broadcasting rights contracts for Fox, Telemundo, and CTV/TSN parent company Bell Media to cover 2026, without accepting any other bids. A report in The New York Times asserted that this extension was intended as compensation for the rescheduling of the 2022 World Cup to November–December rather than its traditional June–July scheduling, as it created considerable conflicts with major professional sports leagues that are normally in their offseasons during
5335-707: The event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team ) won the gold medals . They repeated the feat at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm . With the Olympic event continuing to be a contest between amateur teams only, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament
5432-416: The expansion would dilute the quality of the games, and that the decision was driven by political rather than sporting concerns, accusing Infantino of using the promise of bringing more countries to the World Cup to win his election. Starting with this edition, the FIFA World Cup expanded to 48 teams, an increase of 16 from the previous 7 tournaments. The teams will be split into 12 groups of 4 teams, with
5529-518: The federation had not responded quickly to the Querétaro–Atlas riot between rival fans that left 26 spectators injured and resulted in 14 arrests. Arriola said FIFA was "shocked" by the incident but Infantino was satisfied with the sanctions handed down against Querétaro. Canada, Mexico, and the United States had all publicly considered bidding for the tournament separately, but the United joint bid
5626-651: The final draw). Prior to the final draw, stadiums were assigned to specific groups. Following the final draw, pairings will be allocated to specific matches, and the kick-off times will be confirmed. The official emblem and brand identity was unveiled on May 17, 2023, at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles , California ; its basic form consists of a stacked "26" with an image of the FIFA World Cup Trophy in front of it (marking
5723-419: The first defending champions to play qualifying matches. The final tournament format since 1998 has had 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host nations. There are two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage. In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, with the other seeded teams selected using
5820-473: The first time that the trophy has been depicted in a World Cup emblem as a photo, as opposed to a stylized representation), but it is designed to be adaptable to different backdrops. The next day, FIFA unveiled variants of the emblem for each of the host cities, which feature color variants and designs that reflect local landscapes or culture (with the Los Angeles emblem featuring a stylized sun and wave ,
5917-449: The group stage, although even then some risk of collusion would remain, and a possibility would emerge of teams deliberately losing shootouts to eliminate a rival. To address these concerns, FIFA continued considering alternative formats – a process that ended with the 2023 announcement that the format would be 12 groups of 4 teams. The FIFA Council went back and forth between 2013 and 2017 on limitations within hosting rotation based on
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#17327723659406014-537: The host country of the inaugural World Cup tournament . The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides, especially in the midst of the Great Depression . As such, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of
6111-450: The hosts of multiple future tournaments were announced at the same time, as was the case for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups , which were awarded to Russia and Qatar , with Qatar becoming the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament. For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament was rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host
6208-429: The hotels and training sites for each participating team; additional potential sites were later announced in November. The United Bid personnel anticipated that all three host countries would be awarded automatic berths. On August 31, 2022, FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that six CONCACAF teams will qualify for the World Cup, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically qualifying as hosts. This
6305-533: The inaugural British Home Championship , took place in 1884 and included games between England, Scotland, Wales , and Ireland . As football grew in popularity in other parts of the world at the start of the 20th century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics ; however, the International Olympic Committee has retroactively upgraded their status to official events, as well as
6402-577: The majority of the berths at the World Cup." Those two remarks suggested to commentators that Blatter could be putting himself forward for re-election to the FIFA Presidency. Following the magazine's publication, Blatter's would-be opponent for the FIFA Presidency, UEFA President Michel Platini , responded that he intended to extend the World Cup to 40 national associations, increasing the number of participants by eight. Platini said that he would allocate an additional berth to UEFA , two each to
6499-456: The men's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three over-age players. Women's football made its Olympic debut in 1996 . The FIFA Confederations Cup was a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation(s) as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by
6596-658: The most matches of any venue at the tournament with nine. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey , will host the final on July 19. The United States will host 78 matches, including the quarterfinals onward, while Canada and Mexico will each host 13. Each tournament venue, except for the Estadio Akron , will host at least one knockout stage fixture. Host cities were geographically grouped to optimize travel for teams and fans, except Canada and its opening-game opponent in Toronto. 4 out of 12 groups were allocated for
6693-446: The number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams. The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs . For example,
6790-613: The plan but, in total, the idea is supported by 166 of the 210 member associations of FIFA. An equivalent tournament for women's football , the FIFA Women's World Cup , was first held in 1991 in China . The women's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men's, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991. Men's football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports,
6887-418: The poor state of FedExField , combined its bid with nearby Baltimore 's, which was also unsuccessful. Other cities eliminated from the final hosting list were Cincinnati , Denver , Nashville , Orlando , and Edmonton . Ottawa's candidate venue, TD Place Stadium , was eliminated early on due to insufficient capacity. None of the stadiums used in the 1994 FIFA World Cup will be used in this tournament, and
6984-436: The previous two World Cups. Uruguay won the tournament again after defeating the host nation Brazil, in the match called " Maracanazo " (Portuguese: Maracanaço ). In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978 , 16 teams competed in each tournament, except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India , Scotland , and Turkey withdrew, leaving
7081-412: The quarter-finalists in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2018 were all from Europe or South America and so were the finalists of all tournaments so far. Two hundred teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds. 198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . A record 204 countries entered qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . In October 2013, Sepp Blatter spoke of guaranteeing
7178-503: The remaining four confederations: CONCACAF (North America; last hosted in 1994 ), CAF (Africa; last hosted in 2010 ), CONMEBOL (South America; last hosted in 2014 ), or OFC (Oceania, never hosted before), or potentially by UEFA in case no bid from those four met the requirements. Co-hosting the FIFA World Cup—which had been banned by FIFA after the 2002 World Cup —was approved for the 2026 World Cup, though not limited to
7275-550: The right to wear the FIFA Champions Badge , up until the time at which the winner of the next competition is decided. Since the second World Cup in 1934 , qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament. They are held within the six FIFA continental zones ( Africa , Asia , North and Central America and Caribbean , South America , Oceania , and Europe ), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides
7372-741: The same Zurich hotel where seven FIFA officials had been arrested in May. An additional 16 indictments by the US Department of Justice were announced on the same day. A biennial World Cup plan was first proposed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation at the 71st FIFA Congress on 21 May 2021 and prominently backed by former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and national federations in Africa and Asia. Continental confederations such as UEFA and CONMEBOL are not on board with
7469-420: The second and third places. In such case, the ranking among these teams is determined by: The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the round of 16 (or the second round) in which the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group. This
7566-572: The senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930 , with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War . The reigning champions are Argentina , who won their third title at the 2022 tournament . The contest starts with
7663-406: The sixteen chosen stadiums have permanent artificial turf surfaces that are planned to be replaced with grass under the direction of FIFA and a University of Tennessee – Michigan State University research team. Four venues (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Vancouver) are indoor stadiums that use retractable roof systems, all equipped with climate control while a fifth, Los Angeles, is open-air but has
7760-499: The thieves. After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy , was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga . The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while
7857-501: The top 2 of each group and the 8 best third-placed teams progressing to a new round of 32, as approved by the FIFA Council on March 14, 2023. This is set to be the first expansion and format change since 1998 . The total number of games played will increase from 64 to 104, and the number of games played by teams reaching the final four will increase from seven to eight. The tournament will last 39 days, an increase from 32 days of
7954-511: The tournament , 13 have made it to the final, and 8 have won. Brazil , the only team that has participated in every World Cup, is also the most successful team in the competition, having won five titles and finished second twice. Italy and Germany have four titles each, with Germany having reached more finals than any other team, eight. Current champion Argentina has three titles, Uruguay and France have two each, while England and Spain have one each. Czechoslovakia , Hungary , Sweden ,
8051-584: The tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title. Prior to the Lipton competition, from 1876 to 1904, games that were considered to be the " football world championship " were meetings between leading English and Scottish clubs, such as the 1895 game between Sunderland A.F.C. and the Heart of Midlothian F.C. , which Sunderland won. In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as
8148-537: The tournament with 13 teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were: United States , semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba , quarter-finalists in 1938; North Korea , quarter-finalists in 1966 ; and Mexico , quarter-finalists in 1970 . The tournament
8245-401: The tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament . However, the policy of continental rotation did not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018 . This
8342-551: The winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup . From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil , winners in 2002 , were
8439-777: The winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country. The first edition took place in 1992 and the last edition was played in 2017 . In March 2019, FIFA confirmed that the tournament would no longer be active owing to an expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. FIFA also organises international tournaments for youth football ( FIFA U-20 World Cup , FIFA U-17 World Cup , FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup , FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup ), club football ( FIFA Club World Cup ), and football variants such as futsal ( FIFA Futsal World Cup ) and beach soccer ( FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ). The latter three do not have
8536-579: Was a championship between individual clubs (not national teams) from different nations, each of which represented an entire nation. The competition is sometimes described as The First World Cup , and featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the offer to send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland , an amateur side from County Durham , to represent England instead. West Auckland won
8633-454: Was announced on April 10, 2017. The voting took place on June 13, 2018, during the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow , and it was opened to all 203 eligible members. The United bid won with 134 valid ballots, while the Morocco bid received 65 valid ballots. Iran voted for the option "None of the bids", while Cuba, Slovenia, and Spain abstained from voting. Ghana was suspended by FIFA due to
8730-401: Was chosen over three other proposals, ranging from 40 to 48 teams, from 76 to 88 matches, and from one to four minimum matches per team. Critics of the later-superseded format argued that the use of three-team groups with two teams progressing significantly increased the risk of collusion between teams. This prompted FIFA to suggest that penalty shoot-outs may be used to prevent draws in
8827-549: Was confirmed by the FIFA Council on February 14, 2023. Immediately prior to the 67th FIFA Congress , the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation in a meeting in Manama , Bahrain. This includes an intercontinental playoff tournament involving six teams to decide the last two FIFA World Cup spots. The six teams in the playoffs will comprise one team from each confederation excluding UEFA , and one additional team from
8924-627: Was expanded to 24 teams in 1982 , and then to 32 in 1998 , allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. Since then, teams from these regions have enjoyed more success, with several having reached the quarter-finals: Mexico , quarter-finalists in 1986 ; Cameroon , quarter-finalists in 1990 ; South Korea , finishing in fourth place in 2002 ; Senegal , along with USA , both quarter-finalists in 2002; Ghana , quarter-finalists in 2010; Costa Rica , quarter-finalists in 2014; and Morocco , finishing in fourth place in 2022. European and South American teams continue to dominate, e.g.,
9021-457: Was not put in practice either. The only exception to this type of format was the 1950 World Cup , which featured a final round-robin group of four teams; the decisive match of that group is often regarded as the de facto final of that tournament, including by FIFA itself. The team that wins the final receives the FIFA World Cup Trophy , and its name is engraved on the bottom side of the trophy. Of 80 different nations that have appeared in
9118-586: Was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final , Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo , and became the first nation to win the World Cup. After the creation of the World Cup, FIFA and the IOC disagreed over the status of amateur players; football was dropped from the 1932 Summer Olympics . After the IOC and FIFA worked out their differences, Olympic football returned at
9215-423: Was the first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe. The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Council. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a "Hosting Agreement" from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives
9312-431: Was the first to include British football associations. Scotland , England , Wales , and Northern Ireland had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football. The teams rejoined in 1946 following FIFA's invitation. The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay , who had boycotted
9409-665: Was the start of FIFA's professional era, and is the reason why Uruguay is allowed to wear 4 stars . Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet as the driving force, again started looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a world championship. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as
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