<\/p>\n
Australia’s mission to qualify for the soccer World Cup every four years just got a little easier with FIFA announcing additional qualification spots for the Asian Football Confederation.<\/p>\n
With the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico set to be a 48-team tournament, up from the traditional 32 nations, the AFC will have eight direct qualification positions for soccer’s premier event.<\/p>\n
The Socceroos have reached five consecutive World Cups, but on three occasions – 2006, 2018 and 2022 – the green and gold have been forced to qualify via the truncated intercontinental playoff route, necessitating a victory against players like Peru and Honduras. and Uruguay to reach the main event.<\/p>\n
In the last two AFC qualifying campaigns, Australia have finished as the fifth-best team in the region, meaning the Socceroos will be confident of finishing as part of the top eight nations in Asia to reach the World Cup World 2026.<\/p>\n
There is also the possibility of a ninth place finish for the AFC through an intercontinental playoff with another confederation.<\/p>\n
The new AFC qualifying format will see Australia enter the second qualifying round alongside 36 nations, with nine groups of four playing in a round-robin format to see the top two teams progress.<\/p>\n
Eighteen nations that qualify for the second stage will be drawn into three groups of six, with the top two teams from each group progressing directly to the World Cup.<\/p>\n
The remaining two direct qualification spots will be derived from the third and fourth ranked nation from each group split into two groups of three, with the group winners booking their ticket to the grand final.<\/p>\n
The runners-up of this stage will play a playoff for the right to play another nation from a different confederation for the possible ninth place.<\/p>\n
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in three North American nations: the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n
Of the 80 games to be played in the tournament, 60 will be played in the USA, 10 in Canada and 10 in Mexico.<\/p>\n
The United States and Mexico have previously hosted the men’s World Cup, with Mexico set to become the first country to host three men’s tournaments (1970, 1986 and 2026). <\/p>\n
After hosting in 1994, the United States will soon join the list of countries that have hosted multiple men’s World Cups, along with Mexico, Brazil, Italy, France and Germany.<\/p>\n
Canada has hosted a FIFA Women’s World Cup (2015) and a FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup (2007), making it an experienced welcome back to the world for a tournament senior male<\/p>\n
MORE: Complete 2022 FIFA World Cup schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n FIFA announced the specific venues and cities to host the matches on 16 June 2022 at an event held in New York City and broadcast live around the world. There are a total of 16 venues that were selected by FIFA from among the 23 cities chosen by the United Bid to bid for the 2026 World Cup matches.<\/p>\n Host rooms will be spread across the three countries, with 11 locations in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.<\/p>\n Two of the stadiums, the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, have previously hosted World Cup finals. As it stands, the Estadio Azteca remains one of only two arenas in the world to have hosted two men’s World Cup finals, along with the Maracan\u00e3 in Brazil.<\/p>\n MORE: 2022 World Cup kit launches<\/strong><\/p>\n FIFA announced in 2017 that the 2026 World Cup would be the first to feature an expanded format from the 32-team format used since the 1998 edition in France.<\/p>\n The tournament field will grow by 50 percent to a 48-nation tournament. This will bring an additional 16 teams to the event, creating increased global interest and more matches throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n However, FIFA confirmed that the new format would not increase the maximum number of matches any team would play, with each finalist capped at seven matches.<\/p>\n In the new format of the 2026 World Cup, the group stage will consist of 16 groups of three teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to an expanded 32-team knockout stage that is sure to create chaos and intrigue.<\/p>\n2026 FIFA World Cup Host Cities<\/h2>\n
Venues confirmed to host 2026 World Cup matches<\/h3>\n
\n
Market State Country Location Capacity
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nMexico City Mexico Estadio Azteca 87,523
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nNew York NY\/NJ USA MetLife Stadium 82,500
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nDallas TX USA AT&T Stadium 80,000
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nKansas City KS USA Arrowhead Stadium 76,416
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nHouston TX USA NRG Stadium 71,795
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nAtlanta GA USA Mercedes-Benz Stadium 71,000
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nLos Angeles CA USA SoFi Stadium 70,240
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nPhiladelphia PA USA Lincoln Financial Field 69,176
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nSeattle WA USA Lumen Field 69,000
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nSan Francisco CA USA Levi’s Stadium 68,500
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nBoston MA USA Gillette Stadium 65,878
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nMiami FL USA Hard Rock Stadium 64,767
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nVancouver BC Canada BC Place 54,000
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nMonterrey NL Mexico BBVA Stadium 53,500
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nGuadalajara JAL Mexico Estadio Akron 46,232
\n\t\t<\/tr>\nToronto ON Canada BMO Field 45,500*
\n\t\t<\/tr>\n<\/table>\nHow many teams in the 2026 World Cup?<\/h2>\n