First 48-Team World Cup: The Highs, Lows and What Comes Next
Spain lifted the trophy at the end of a mammoth 104-game tournament spread across five-and-a-half weeks in North America — the first World Cup ever played with 48 nations. According to The Guardian’s post-tournament review, the expanded format delivered both on its promises and its fears.
When FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed through the change from 32 to 48 teams back in 2017, the reaction was divided. Diego Maradona welcomed it as a chance for every nation to dream; former Germany coach Joachim Löw warned it would “dilute the sporting value” over time. On the evidence of 2026, both men had a point.
More Nations, More Stories
Africa and Asia benefited from larger qualifying quotas, and the four debutants made their mark. Cape Verde were the tournament’s standout underdog story, while Curaçao’s Livano Comenencia grabbed a group-stage equaliser against Germany that will be long remembered. Egypt and Canada each recorded their first ever knockout-stage victories — a genuine milestone for both nations.
For fans of smaller footballing nations, there is a real argument that the diaspora talent now available to these sides will only grow stronger in future tournaments, particularly if FIFA spreads its record revenues more evenly across member associations.
Group Stage Flaws
The expanded field did come at a cost to group-stage drama. There were five fixtures in 2026 where the world ranking gap between opponents exceeded 65 places — wider than anything seen at Qatar 2022, where Brazil versus Haiti (a gap of 77) was the biggest mismatch. Competitive scorelines like England 0-0 Ghana and Spain 0-0 Cape Verde masked the fact that genuine shocks for the major nations were almost nonexistent. Uruguay were the only significant casualty in the early rounds.
Five nations finished with a goal difference matching or worse than the -8 recorded by Costa Rica in 2022, with Iraq (-11) taking the unwanted wooden spoon in a group containing France, Norway and Senegal.
FIFA’s decision to stick with four-team groups — rather than the originally planned three-team format — did not fully resolve concerns around collusion or the advantage held by teams playing later in each group. Third-place finishers like Scotland faced days of uncertainty before learning their fate.
A 64-Team Future?
Infantino has already floated the idea of expanding to 64 teams. Adding 16 more nations and roughly 24 extra games could allow FIFA to scrap the third-place system entirely and return to a straightforward top-two-qualify format.
For a full breakdown of results and group standings from the tournament, visit our live standings page, and head to our World Cup 2026 hub for all the key coverage.