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FIFA World Cup 2026: The Latest Updates

Sep 28
2 min read

Editorial Assistant Jordan Jayanthi recaps the highlights and surprising underdogs of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer games which are currently enrapturing the majority of the globe


Every four years, billions of people around the world stop to watch one sporting event: the FIFA World Cup, the biggest international football tournament that brings together the best national teams across the world. The tournament began in 1930, with the inaugural competition played in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. Since that day, it has grown exponentially in popularity, getting billions of people glued to their screens and millions of fans travelling to watch games.


2026 marks a new era for the world cup, introducing the biggest changes to date and a tournament full of surprises. The most significant change is the expansion from 32 teams to 48 teams. This is the first World Cup to feature 48 national teams, increasing the number of matches from 64 to 104. FIFA introduced the expansion to allow more countries from every continent to qualify. Four new countries make their debut at the World Cup this year: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.


For the first time in history, the tournament is being hosted by three countries—the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sixteen cities across North America are staging matches, with the final being held in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey [1].


The group stage has also changed. Instead of eight groups of four teams, the tournament now has 12 groups of four teams. Every team still plays three group-stage matches, but the qualification process is different. The top two teams from each group automatically progress to the knockout stage, while the eight best third-placed teams also qualify. This creates a 32-team knockout stage, adding an extra elimination round before the traditional Round of 16.


Several underdog nations have produced impressive performances. Teams such as Morocco and Cape Verde have exceeded expectations by reaching the knockout rounds, while Paraguay eliminated Germany, one of the strongest teams. As of note, Australia’s World Cup came to an end in the Round of 32. The Socceroos were eliminated after a heartbreaking 4-2 penalty shootout loss to Egypt, following a 1-1 draw through extra time [2]. Traditional football powers such as Brazil, Argentina, France, England and Spain have continued to perform strongly during the tournament. These household names have once again shown why they are considered favourites [3]. 


Whether you have followed every match or are only catching up now, one thing is clear: the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been a significant turning point for international football in present-day culture. More countries, more matches and more fans than ever before have helped create a tournament that reflects football's growing popularity across the world.


by Jordan Jayanthi



References:


[2] Smale, S.  (2026, July 4). World Cup: Australia knocked out by Egypt in penalty shootout after Socceroos defenders miss. ABC News.  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-04/world-cup-live-blog-2026-socceroos-australia-vs-egypt/106877594 


[3] Grohmann, K. (2026, July 3). It’s all in the numbers: Expanded World Cup brings more shocks, but heavyweights still rule. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/its-all-numbers-expanded-world-cup-brings-more-shocks-heavyweights-still-rule-2026-07-03/ 

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