Where will 2026 World Cup be held and how many teams will be there?

The next edition will be staged across three countries with a huge increase in number of teams and matches

Lionel Messi holds up the trophy after Argentina defeated France on penalties in the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, on Sunday, December 18, 2022. AP

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after beating France. AP

France's Kylian Mbappe walks past the trophy at the end of the match. AP

Argentina's Lionel Messi holds up the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. AP

Argentina celebrate victory at Lusail Stadium. Getty

Lionel Messi of Argentina kisses the trophy after beating France 4-2 on penalties. EPA

Argentina celebrate victory. AP

Argentina captain Lionel Messi celebrates with World Cup trophy. PA

Kylian Mbappe of France with his Golden Boot award for finishing as the tournament's top scorer. EPA

Argentina players celebrate after winning the World Cup final penalty shoot-out against France. Getty

Argentina players celebrate victory. Getty

Argentina's Lautaro Martinez and Lionel Messi celebrate after winning the World Cup. Reuters

Argentina's Leandro Paredes celebrates scoring the winning penalty against France. Getty

Argentina's Leandro Paredes celebrates scoring during the penalty shoot-out against France. Reuters

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saves from Kingsley Coman of France in the penalty shoot-out. Getty

Lionel Messi scores for Argentina in the penalty shoot-out. Getty

Emiliano Martinez of Argentina celebrates after saving Kingsley Coman's penalty. Getty

Kylian Mbappe completes his hat-trick from the spot to make it 3-3. Getty

Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his, and France's, third goal. Getty

Lionel Messi scores Argentina's third goal. Getty

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Argentina's third goal. Getty

Lionel Messi scores Argentina's third goal. Reuters

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Argentina's third goal. PA

Argentina's Lionel Messi goes for a high challenge on Eduardo Camavinga of France. Getty

Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after scoring Argentina's third. AFP

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is beaten by the penalty of France's Kylian Mbappe. Getty

Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring France's second goal. PA

Argentina's Nicolas Otamendi fouls Randal Kolo Muani of France giving away a penalty. Getty

Kylian Mbappe volleys home France's second goal. Getty

Argentina attacker Angel Di Maria skips past the challenge of France's Antoine Griezmann. PA

Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the first France goal. Getty

Kylian Mbappe scores France's first goal from the penalty spot. Reuters

Angel Di Maria celebrates scoring Argentina's second goal. Reuters

Argentina's Lionel Messi sends France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot. Getty

France's Kylian Mbappe with Lionel Messi of Argentina. Getty

Angel Di Maria scores for Argentina in the first-half. Getty

France's Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Adrien Rabiot after Argentina made it 2-0. PA

Argentina's Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring with France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on his knees. Reuters

Argentina's Nicolas Tagliafico and Randal Kolo Muani fight for the ball. AP

Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring for Argentina. Getty

Lionel Messi is mobbed by Argentina teammates after scoring. Getty

France's Jules Kounde heads the ball. AP

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Argentina. Getty

Argentina attacker Angel Di Maria earns a penalty after going down under the challenge of France's Ousmane Dembele. Getty

France's Olivier Giroud shakes hands with manager Didier Deschamps after being substituted in the first half. PA

Lionel Messi scores from the spot for Argentina. PA

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a first-half penalty for Argentina. Getty

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saves from Argentina's Julian Alvarez. AP

France manager Didier Deschamps, left, with his Argentina counterpart Lionel Scaloni before the game. AP

Argentina players before the match. AP

France players before the match. Getty

The 2022 Qatar World Cup turned out to be a spectacular success on every parameter, culminating in one of the greatest ever finals in the history of the tournament.

After a lot of apprehension over the staging of a mega tournament like the World Cup in small nation like Qatar, the tournament eventually went off smoothly with fans and teams enjoying state-of-the-art facilities, great hospitality and a slice of Arab culture.

Such was the positive response from a thrilling group stage, Morocco's incredible run and overall quality of football, Fifa president Gianni Infantino called it the "best World Cup ever".

While celebrations in Argentina will go on for days after Lionel Messi's inspiring effort in the final, the focus has already started to shift to the next tournament.

Where will the 2026 Fifa World Cup be held?

The 2022 World Cup was celebrated for its compact size - staged at eight stadiums in and around the Qatari capital of Doha and all around within an hours' drive from each other. However, the 2026 World Cup is set to stand out for its size, number of teams and travel involved.

The next World Cup will be held across three host nations - the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is the first time the finals has been split across three countries.

Matches will be held in 16 host cities - 11 in the US, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

All of the US games will be held in venues used by NFL teams, with stadiums such as the $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the New York Giants' 82,500-seater MetLife Stadium.

How many teams will participate in the 2026 World Cup?

Everything about this World Cup is going to be massive. Fifa has announced that the American World Cup will have 48 teams, up from 32 in Qatar.

The 16-team increase marks the biggest expansion in the World Cup's evolution.

The biggest beneficiaries of the expansion will be Africa and Asia. Under the new format, Africa will receive nine qualifying slots for the finals, compared to five previously, while Asia will nearly double to eight from 4.5 spots.

How many matches will played and what is the format?

After the success of the four-team group format in Qatar, Fifa are planning to retain that formula. That would mean 12 groups of four, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout rounds along with the eight best third-place finishers.

That format would also mean a total of 104 matches, a huge jump from 64 in Qatar.

Full list of World Cup 2026 venues and their capacity

USA

SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles. Capacity 70,000

MetLife Stadium, New Jersey. Capacity 82,500

AT&T Stadium, Dallas. Capacity 80,000

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami. Capacity 65,000

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Capacity 76,000

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta. Capacity 71,000

Gillette Stadium, Boston. Capacity 65,000

NRG Stadium, Houston. Capacity 72,000

Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. Capacity 67,000

Levi's Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area. Capacity 68,000

Lumen Field, Seattle. Capacity 72,000

MEXICO

Azteca Stadium, Mexico City. Capacity 87,000

Estadio Akron, Guadalajara. Capacity 46,000

Estadio BBVA, Monterrey. Capacity 51,000

CANADA

BMO Field, Toronto. Capacity 30,000

BC Place, Vancouver. Capacity 54,000

What will travel be like?

Travel between venues is likely to be the biggest headache for organisers, teams and fans. The distance between some of the venues within USA and also to stadiums in Canada and Mexico is around 5,000km. Fifa boss Infantino had said the governing body was looking at basing teams in regional "clusters" to minimise travel.

Even with certain systems in place, the 2026 World Cup is likely to be a huge challenge not only for the teams and travelling fans, but also for the viewing public as American time zone is likely to prove a stumbling block for the main football markets.