The World Cup is coming back to the United States, and it looks almost nothing like the last time.
In 1994, 24 teams played 52 matches over 32 days. In 2026, 48 teams will play 104 matches across 39 days — spread across the US, Mexico, and Canada. The tournament has doubled in size. That's not an evolution, it's a restructuring of what the World Cup is allowed to be.
Infantino's expansion gamble
The scale-up is deliberate, driven by FIFA president Gianni Infantino's strategy to entrench the World Cup's commercial dominance while pushing into new markets. The US — the world's largest sports economy — is the centrepiece of that plan. More matches means more broadcast content, and media rights are FIFA's biggest revenue stream. Expanding to 104 games across participating nations significantly inflates the value of those deals.
There's also a political dimension. FIFA's voting structure gives every member association equal weight — Brazil's vote counts the same as Curaçao's, a nation with roughly 150,000 people. Including smaller nations like Cape Verde and Curaçao deepens FIFA's political base among previously marginalised countries. Convenient, if nothing else.
The criticism hasn't been quiet. Ticket pricing concerns and Infantino's more theatrical public gestures have drawn sustained media fire. But the commercial outcome is exactly what FIFA wanted. The real question — one FIFA hasn't answered — is where the ceiling is. At what point does expanding the field dilute the exclusivity that makes the World Cup worth what it's worth?
What's actually changed on the pitch
The 1994 tournament was itself a rulebook turning point. The back-pass ban and the switch to three points for a win were both introduced that year — changes designed to push teams forward and kill defensive stalling. Those reforms worked. They're still shaping how the game is played today.
For 2026, VAR gets a broader remit, covering decisions like second yellow cards and corner calls. Mandated drinks breaks — one per half, around the 22-minute mark — address the heat issues that plagued players in 1994. Squads now have five substitutions plus an additional concussion replacement allowance, up from just two subs three decades ago.
- Teams: 24 (1994) → 48 (2026)
- Matches: 52 (1994) → 104 (2026)
- Duration: 32 days (1994) → 39 days (2026)
- Substitutions: 2 (1994) → 5 + concussion sub (2026)
MLS launched in 1996 off the back of the 1994 tournament — it was literally a condition of the US being awarded the hosting rights — and it's now a legitimate league with genuine pathways into European football. The US men's side sits 16th in the world rankings. A deep run in 2026 isn't a stretch.
Roberto Baggio and Romário would recognise the game being played in 2026. That's the thing about football — strip away the broadcast deals and the 48-team bracket and it's still eleven versus eleven on grass. The scale has changed. The sport hasn't.
