France humiliated England in the World Cup quarterfinals, ending a dream. So, of course, it’s time to look forward and pin our hopes on the next World Cup in four years.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in North America, with games held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada during the tournament. The three countries worked together to win the United Bid, defeating Morocco to host the tournament.
As England’s trip to Qatar comes close, “allfootballleague” examines how the Three Lions might pursue triumph in North America.
Qualification for the World Cup in 2026
The World Cup in 2026 will be expanded significantly. The next World Cup will contain 48 teams, up from the current 32-team format.
As a result, UEFA’s place in the finals will increase from 13 to 16. As a result, we are still unsure how European qualifying for the 2026 edition will work, and a new UEFA World Cup qualification model announcement is scheduled on January 25, 2023.
In any event, England will have to qualify to secure one of the 16 European slots in North America – nothing like a goal-filled and defensively solid qualifying campaign to raise expectations, is there?
World Cup format in 2026
England and the rest of the globe will have to adjust to an entirely new structure for the 2026 World Cup; although the current projected format has not been finalized, the following is likely to occur.
With the increased number of competitors, FIFA has decided to redesign the group stage, moving from eight groups of four to sixteen groups of three. The 48 nations will play each other twice before the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout round, which will begin with a round of 32 rather than a round of 16.
With the chance of facing just one significantly lower-ranked country in the group stage (supposedly), the Three Lions will be hoping for a third straight trip to the World Cup knockout stage in 2026. What occurs beyond the group stage, on the other hand, is nearly always unpredictable.
The number of matches will rise from 64 to 80, while finalists will still have played seven games before competing in the championship.
Although it is a long way off, we need some optimism.
