This year’s edition of the World Cup will be the biggest ever with an expanded field of 48 teams, three host countries and 16 stadiums staging the record 104 matches over the 39-day tournament.
The tournament being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico is the first since FIFA expanded the field from 32 teams to 48, adding four more groups in the initial stage and a new round of 32 in the knockout portion.
The World Cup last expanded for the 1998 tournament with the last seven editions featuring 32 teams and 64 games. This also marks just the second time that the tournament will be played in multiple countries with Japan and South Korea sharing the 2002 edition.
There will be 11 sites in the United States, with three in Mexico and two in Canada. Mexico will host 13 matches, including the opener in Mexico City on June 11 between the host team and South Africa and three in the knockout rounds.
Canada will also have 13 matches with the first coming between the hosts and Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto and three more in the knockout round.
The remaining 78 will be in the U.S. starting when the Americans take on Paraguay on June 12 in the Los Angeles area, and including all the matches in teh quarterfinals, semifinals and the final round at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Here’s a look at some other stats to watch during the 2026 World Cup:
1,248: There are a record 1,248 players on the rosters coming from 449 domestic clubs in 71 countries. There are 357 players with World Cup experience, alomng with 891 first-timers.
England leads the way with 200 players on rosters who are based there at club level. Germany is second with 109, followed by France (86), Spain (86), Italy (71) and Saudi Arabia (49). Major League Soccer will be represented by a record 44 active players at the World Cup with 103 of the players having some experience in MLS.
Manchester City of the Premier League has the most players of any club with a record of 19, followed by Bayern Munich with 18, Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal 16 and Barcelona with 15.
226: Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo leads all players in the tournament with 226 caps — the most ever by a single men’s player — as he is set to join Argentina’s Lionel Messi as the only players to appear in six World Cups.
Ronaldo is the only player to score in five World Cups with eight goals in his 22 matches.
Messi has the most career World Cup matches with 26 and needs two appearances to become the third man with at least 200 caps (Bader Al-Mutawa, Kuwait, also has more 200 appearances in international play). Croatia’s Luka Modric is three short of joining that group.
Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa is on a World Cup roster for the sixth time but didn’t appear in a game in 2006 or 2010.
16: Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 career goals for Germany could jeopardy in this year’s edition. Messi comes into the tournament with 13 career goals, trailing only Klose, Brazilian star Ronaldo (15) and Gerd Muller (14). France’s Kylian Mbappe is also in range having scored 12 goals combined in the past two tournaments 8: Only eight countries have won the World Cup with six of those teams winning multiple titles led by Brazil’s five. The only first-time winners in the last 11 Cups came in 1998 when France won the first of its two titles and in 2010 when Spain won it all.
2: Only two countries have repeated as champions with Pele leading Brazil to titles in 1958 and 62, and Italy winning it in 1934 and ’38. Three other defending champions made it to the title game, including France four years ago before losing to Argentina.
6: There have been six defending champions who failed to make it out of the group stage, including in three of the last four editions. France made it back to the final in 2022 but Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and Germany (2018) all get eliminated before the knockout rounds.
3: France will try to become the third county to make it to three straight finals after winning it in 2018 and losing in 2022. West Germany lost the final in 1982 and ’86 before beating Argentina in 1990. Brazil had wins in 1994 and 2002 around a title game loss to France in 1998.
23: Brazil is the only country to appear in all 23 editions of the World Cup starting in 1930 in Uruguay. The Brazilians also lead all countries with 76 wins, 237 goals and a plus-129 goal differential. Germany is next in all three categories with 21 appearances, 232 goals and a plus-102 goal differential, including 10 appearances as West Germany before reunification.
4: There are four countries making their World Cup debuts with Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan the newcomers this time around. That will increase the total of countries to compete in the World Cup to 84 all-time.
7: Egypt has played seven World Cup matches without a win. The Egyptians are 0-5-2 and will try to break through starting June 15 against Belgium. The only country with more games and no wins is Honduras with nine. Honduras didn’t qualify this year.
2,720: There have been 2,720 goals scored in 964 matches in the first 22 World Cups. With the additional 40 games, the record of 172 goals in a tournament set in Qatar in 2022 should be broken. The record of 5.38 combined goals per game set in 1954 should be safe.
25: There is more than 25 years separating the oldest player from the youngest. Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon will be 43 years and 162 days old on the first day of the tournament, while Mexico’s Gilbert Mora will be 17 years, 240 days old. (AP) TAP
Published – June 08, 2026 09:40 am IST
