The World Cup is fast approaching! If you are in a football family but have absolutely no clue what is going on, this is the blog post for you.
We will be covering what the World Cup is, where it’s being held and any key information you may need for the upcoming games.
What is the World Cup?
The World Cup happens every four years and is the top tournament for nations best footballers. This year, 48 countries have qualified for the tournament, the highest number in the game's history.
Where and when is it being held?
This year, the games are being held in three different countries for the first time: Mexico, Canada and the US. The first match is commencing in Mexico City on the 11th June between Mexico and South Africa.
How it works
The 48 competing countries have been put into 12 groups of four; these teams will play against each other and try to gain the most points. These points are calculated with 3 points for winning a game, 1 point for each team for tying and 0 points for a losing team. There are no penalties at this stage, with only 30 minutes of extra time added to drawing games. The top two teams out of their allocated group will go through to the next round, the knockouts. The teams that came in third through this first stage will then be compared with all the other teams that came third, and the teams with the highest points will go through to the next round. 16 teams will be eliminated at this stage.
Once the teams are in the knockout stage, this then turns into winner-takes-all matches until we get to the final. Look at the picture below for an example of how this may look.
Matches are 90 minutes long, broken into two halves of 45 minutes, and players have a 15-minute break at halftime.
Who are the favourites?
Here is a list of the favourites to win (in no particular order) and why, just in case you end up in a room full of football superfans.
- Spain - They have won the 2022 -23 UEFA Nations League, The Euros in 2024 and the men's football in the Paris Olympics. Lamine Yamal, an 18-year-old coming up through the ranks, is seen as a player to keep an eye on in matches.
- France - The 2022 World Cup runners-up, have reached the previous two World Cup finals, winning in 2018. Kylian Mbappé is also a key player and someone to keep an eye on.
- Argentina - The reigning champions will be trying to defend their 2022 World Cup win; they have also won the 2021 and 2024 Copa América. Lionel Messi is still considered their main player, even with concerns about his age.
- Portugal - The defending UEFA Nations League champion, however, has only ever got to the 1966 World Cup final. Cristiano Ronaldo is their core player and will be fighting to win the World Cup for Portugal for the first time.
- Brazil - Previously, Brazil have been the team to beat with 5 World Cup titles behind them; however, there have been multiple coaches throughout the 4-year break, resulting in an interesting final team.
New Teams
With this being the largest World Cup, many teams have never attended the tournament. Curaçao, a Caribbean island, will be the smallest country ever to debut in the World Cup, with a population of 158,006, beating Iceland's record in 2018. Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan are also experiencing the World Cup for the first time.
Here is everything you need to know for the upcoming tournament. Hopefully, this will come in handy for the upcoming football games.
Websites used
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gylgpr3j9o
https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/media-releases/world-cup-2026-48-squads-confirmed